Another Great Meal and Some Misgivings

My mom had made some really delicious turnip mash a while back and I was looking for a chance to try making it myself. Turnips have a lovely light taste to them and when cut with the earthier potato and a bit of butter, it is really nice. This past week gave us a ton of turnips from the Purple Dragon Food Co-Op , so I was set. But how do you build a vegetarian meal around mash? I always liked mash with meatloaf, so I went googling for a lentil loaf recipe. I found a ton that threw lentils in with a few veggies plus cheese and eggs, but they all seemed pretty boring. Then I stumbled upon a vegan blogger who had this great recipe. He added tofu and what I liked most was the wild combination of seasonings: soy sauce, dry mustard, and cumin to name a few. And it was topped with a tomato paste/vinegar spread. It baked up beautifully without drying out and it held nicely together. It was soooo good. I can happily say goodbye to meatloaf. The more I get a few good standard meatless recipes under my belt, the more I feel I can do this.

But even after this success, an undercurrent of regret looms. Are we going to keep this up after the 100 days? I think about my 2 1/2 year old daughter. As I said before, I am not worried about her nutrition, but what about the memories we are making? No comforting chicken soup (and I make a really good one). No diner hamburgers. I could come up with a huge list. I don't know. Is this stuff important? For a moment it felt like it was, but in the end, it IS just food. And, above all, I want to teach her to be grateful that we have so much.

-Nina