I got your new post right here

There's been quite a clamor (OK, two people—one of whom is my mother) for us to update the blog, so here goes: Things are still going swimmingly. I don't miss meat and I'm not dreaming of 72 oz. steaks or anything like that. In fact, the other night I sat down to a meal of chick peas and kale and thought "yummy," whereas just three months ago I would have thought "what is this healthy crap?" The other big news is that we are not committed vegetarians anymore. We have agreed on special occasions to have meat, but only meat that is free-range, free-thinking, etc. There are a few reasons for this: 1-Meat is tasty. 2-Having it once or twice a year isn't going to affect my health a whit. 3-Hosts for Thanksgiving, etc., won't have to bend over backwards to meet our veggie needs. That's the big news, I guess. Nina lost enthusiasm for this project, so I guess I'll have to keep this blog alive, even though I have another blog to promote, one that just received 1 million hits.

I'm Lovin' It

I noticed Nina's not updating this much. That's the problem with blogs—you have to add new posts to them all the time. There's nothing more off-putting than visiting a blog for the first time and seeing that the last post was a couple of months ago. But, although her enthusiasm for the blog has waned, she's totally into the vegetarian thing. She doesn't talk at all about missing beef, chicken or pork and is enthusiastically cooking up new recipes using vegetable broth. I don't really miss meat either. In fact, most days I don't even think about it. But I do feel like a cheat. I eat a lot of cheese, usually in the form of pizza. I think vegan would be a tougher challenge or, maybe like this guy, I could only eat raw foods.

The Sushi Exception

Last night we felt like going out for something special so we got sushi. I realize that eating fish is pretty indefensible on some level. One rationalization is that fish aren't, for the most part, factory farmed, so at least they live pretty decent lives until they get caught. It's also hard to form a connection with a fish, no matter how hard you try. Finally, eating fish isn't all that bad for you, compared to, say, beef. On the other hand, the world is running out of fish and by eating seafood, you are helping to hasten that. So, like milk and cheese, having fish in our diet is a bit of a cop-out, but, damn it would be sad to envision a life without sushi.

—Todd

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

We Don't Eat Meat

Since having taken on this diet, I realize now how much meat I used to eat. However small the amount was or if it was just some bones to make soup, it was usually present every day. So when Todd and I went to visit my mom's this past weekend, I was not surprised to hear a common refrain: "Well, your father and I don't eat much meat either." Just to be contentious, I asked her to recall her last few meals. She could only remember two: a hamburger for lunch and turkey meatloaf for dinner. Then she offered us pea soup for lunch. "There's no meat in it, just vegetables," she said. "Oh, and a little chicken stock."

--Nina

Re: Cholestrol

"The prospect of being hanged focuses the mind wonderfully" —Samuel Johnson

A few people who've read this blog have told me they were surprised that I have such high cholesterol. All I can say is, I'm surprised too. I'm not obese and I thought our diet was pretty decent, but I sort of always assumed I'd get my father's coronary genes, disregarding the 50% chance that I'd get my mother's sides cholestrol & diabetes combo. Then two years ago I went for a physical and got a cholestrol reading of 220. I freaked out a little, but my reaction was kind of perverse. I read Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories and concluded that carbohydrates were the real problem in the Western diet. So I began eating even more meat and opting for the sour cream on my burrito. Then last year I got a 240 and I realized that approach isn't working. So anyone who thinks I've jumped into this vegetarian thing lightly is mistaken. My new experiment is to eat a pretty-much vegan diet and run every day. Then in three months I'll check my number again. Is this a pain in the ass? Yes.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

Nina was out this afternoon, so I made lunch for Willow and myself. We didn't have much around, so Nina had suggested a Trader Joe's Gruyere pizza we had in the freezer. But that has ham, I countered. No problem, she said, just take off the ham before you cook it. I did it, and you can se the result. My side (on the left) was burnt and thin and Willow's looked delicious. Mine tasted OK, but it was far from filling. I had to supplement it with a protein shake.

—Todd