After the Organic Chicken Incident, I decided I had to get serious and start reading up on issues in ethical eating. My plan for the week was to hit the Hollywood Farmers' Market on Sunday, buy meat from a local farm that I knew met all of my possible standards--no cages, no hormones, no unnecessary pain or cruelty, located in Southern California--avoid restaurants until I knew what I was looking for, and start reading. The universe had a different plan.
I did manage to find a suitable meat purveyor. Halfway through my tour of the farmer's market I met a man from Healthy Family Farms in Ventura County. His carefree, happy chickens were just what I needed....except that, due to increased demand over Thanksgiving, he was out of meat for the week. (He did have some lovely, carefree, happy eggs and a suggestion to get on their email distribution list so I could pre-order in the future.)
When I got home I sat down to make my reading list. Five minutes of Google searching later, I was overwhelmed. There are zillions of books and websites about ethical eating. I turned off my computer.
The rest of Sunday flew by and on Monday I went to work (where, frustratingly, people expected me to spend my time working), with the end result that I had a bunch of (organic, locally grown) vegetables, some week-old soy dogs, not an ounce of meat in my house, and no further information or decisions about what meat I could eat.
This was how I came to discover that I have no idea how to eat like a vegetarian.
Each meal I ate this week consisted of a single dish. On the first night I made succotash out of fresh corn and frozen edamame. It goes so well with grilled chicken; I had no idea what else to serve with it. I combed my cabinets looking for ideas, but nothing I had on hand--chocolate chips, canned black olives, assorted teas--helped. Dinner that night was the biggest plate of succotash you've ever seen.
The next night was a repeat, except with refried beans. (I figured I needed protein.) I wanted to eat more than one thing, but what? Rice or a tortilla would have been obvious choices, except I don't eat white rice or white flour. Beans and brown rice just didn't sound right. Maybe the beans and the leftover succotash? Again, I gave up. (In an effort to make the beans look less sad, I covered them with cheese. I also downed a glass of wine.)
Night three was...wait for it...leftover succotash. As an afterthought I ate a soy dog.
In sum, I have not had meat or a two-dish meal since Monday. I am moderately hungry and extremely anxious to make and tackle my reading list. I need meat standards, stat.
Given my inability to think creatively about what to eat other than meat, it's comforting to know that scientists are hard at work on a solution. Apparently "the Dutch government and a sausage maker" are just a few steps away from growing artificial meat.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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my luvcuz,
ReplyDeletestock up on quinoa and couscous! they are dried so they don't go bad for a long time. and they're an EASY, vegetarian source of protein and fiber together. i have lots of recipes should you need! proud of you for taking this on. keep sharing the knowledge.