Family Gathering

We had a delayed family Christmas and due to circumstances, it wasn't until today. As mentioned before I am the only vegetarian in my family and this year, since my grandpa's recent death, I had not one to cook for but myself. I had frozen extras of both my Thanksgiving Vegetable Wellington and my Christmas spinach mushroom pastry for just such an event, and I FORGOT IT at home. I tried to call home and ask my brothers to grab one of them out of the freezer, but they had already left. Instead I was left with a few choice from the appetizers (spinach artichoke dip, cheese, olives, and pickles), corn, rolls, and a green bean casserole that was somehow not quite right and undercooked. The potato casserole included cream of chicken (yeck!) and the baked beans (which I never was much the fan) had bacon. I keep waiting for the day when they remember that there is a vegetarian in their family, but eight years hasn't let to much improvement. Oh well, it was otherwise a decent day and a good reminder for next time to take something.

Update!

UPDATE: Still cooking when I can. Dating a vegetarian (now there IS a new one) and have been for a few months now. Survived Christmas. Almost couldn't find vegan Worcestershire sauce for the Chex mix (thankfully, I found Annie's brand at my local Meijer). Explored some new holiday main dish ideas, keeping the Vegetable Wellington for Thanksgiving, but made a mini spinach and portabella mushroom mix inside a puffed pastry (inspired by the Greek spanakopita) with a bit of onion, garlic (of course), and cheese. I have extras of both in the freezer. New computer (the old one crashed, it will be missed).


Now, for something to remind me (or us as the case may be) that we are not alone. There are more of us then some would like us to think. :-) Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Ponderings

Five Thanksgivings as Vegetarian have passed and I am welcoming number six. Gives me a chance to take a look back and then towards the present. The first year was probably the most daunting. I was still new to the whole vegetarian thing only by a couple months. Outside of my immediate household the rest of my family still did not know the scary, dirty secret of my vegetarian decision (and yes that is how my mother treated it). At the family gathering, I ate around everyone else, without anyone paying any attention to my plate. No one noticed what was on my plate or what I wasn’t eating… until the car ride home where an argument ensured about me offending my unknowing grandmother because I did not eat any of her turkey. (By Christmas the rest of the family has been told, but is a whole different story.)

In the Thanksgiving that have followed I have added foods with my own meat-free twist, including my mushroom gravy and dripping-free gravy. This year I am ready to take the next step in the whole vegetarian feast… a meat-free alternative to their turkey thing. I’ve been playing with a few ideas. The first, and probably most obvious, is the whole tofurky idea. I’ve looked into the pre-made kind (by ordering or finding a store nearby) or by homemade, but I continue to have my doubts. I am hesitant to the idea of making something to look like meat. I even contemplated the idea of using my own stuffing/dressing recipe in a pumpkin and roasting (seemingly another popular idea). Of course a simple net search brings about all sorts of recipes and ideas of casseroles, roasts or whatever else. They got me thinking.

At a wedding over the summer they included “Vegetable Wellington” as the vegetarian option. Mystified and curious I did a net search to get a heads up on what we would be eating. My interest was piqued further. At the side down reception it was a surprisingly nice and savory entrée’ for ones who are accustomed to eating around salads and side dishes as such events (or the ever-present pasta). I’m contemplating my own version for Thanksgiving (and/or Christmas). Sounds like a yummy option for my and for my semi-vegetarian grandparent (the doctor has severely limited his meat consumption for health reasons.) Oh, the near endlessness of my options.

"Vegetarian: A person who eats only side dishes." ~Gerald Lieberman

Have you ever grilled your peanut butter?

A lot of kids grew up on grilled cheese, my family was no exception, but that was not the only grilled sandwhich that we know from childhood. For me there is another comfort food from childhood that comes in the form of two peices of bread grilled and often served along side tomato soup... grilled peanut butter. It was often grilled up along side of the grilled cheese sandwhiches my Mom made, but was something seemingly unique to my family. It's the same basic process as a grilled cheese sandwhich, but takes a little more finess when it comes to getting the butter on both of the outsides of the bread and peanut butter on the inside. Once grilled there is the nice toasty outsides so many of us remember from childhood with the oohy, gooey, melty insides of the peanut butter (crunchy peanut butter has always been my favorite). The white bread from younger days has been replaced with a multi grain oat bread, but crunchy peanut butter melting from the inside has lovingly stayed the same. For me it is a taste of childhood, a comforting blast from the past. We all have something to turn to from those childhood days, something that helps give us comfort on the bad days and during those trying moments when simplicty of days is sought. Maybe next time I get the urge to grill up some peanut butter I might even add some fruit, such as some sliced apples or bananas or something else I come across in the pantry. I was never one much for jam or jelly intruding on my peanut butter, but some might be up for it too.

Thanksgiving is coming and dinner lists are being made. Are you ready?

"Nothing spoils lunch any quicker than a rogue meatball rampaging through your spaghetti." ~Jim Davis

Holiday Preperations Underway!!!

It was a rather simple day meal-wise. I made a pasta with olive oil and herb thing for dinner, adding some fresh sliced mushrooms and spinach, then a touch of parmasan. A lovely meal with a peice of oat bread. I was talking to a friend of mine that used to be a vegetarian online while I ate and she talked about how she has been really thinking about going back. (Her vegetarian days were in high school and she started eating meat only when she was accepted as a foreign exchange student and she worried about food options.) Now past college, law school, married and into the real world the draw seems back. The numbers nationally are growing, but more so in cretain areas and the options out there are in constant growth. The options for vegetarian and organic foods are so much easier to find than they once were... even in the last six years.

The holiday food planning has begun. I spent awhile this evening on the phone working my way through the potluck list for the big family Thanksgiving. (And I mean it'll be a big one.) We are working on balancing a feast for for vegetarians, semi vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike. At a minimun that puts us at around three different types of dressing/stuffing to uphold various traditions and dietary needs. This means regular poultry inspired stuffing, oyster dressing (a family tradition), and my very yummy mushroom dressing (depending on whether or not I decide to stuff in inside of a pumpkin and roast it). The one thing with me doing the organizig is that I get to make sure there are enough vegetable type dishes and salads. At least one other fmaily member is limited on his meat consumption and it is important that there are options for both of us.

In the words of Jeremy Bentham: 'The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" '

Back, and hopefully not forgotten

No, I didn't forget, it was just a busy summer full of spending time with family and friends, grilling veggie burgers and wonderful vegatables like corn on the cob, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, peppers, and anything else that seems to catch my fancy. Fall is very much upon us, kicked off in this area my the county fair in September. I entered my vegetarian cookbook collection in the hobby building for cookbook collections and took first place in the catagory, beating out the wildlife cooking collection and more tradional colletcions. (I viewed this as a fairly major personal victory in making this lifestyle much more accepted in mainstream farming country.)

I've been keeping myself busy with community theater (one current project that is getting ready to open, one just starting rehearsals, and one that I am working on proposing), as well as getting ready for the holidays. I just can't seem to resist trying new recipes (especially trying out new cookie recipes on friends and family). Plans for Thanksgiving are now in the works. As per the usual my family is all gathering round... vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Hope ya'all are enjoying the fall foilage and enjoying the soup inspriing weather.

Check out the American Dietetic Association's (ADA) 2003 Position Paper

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm

"I think if you want to eat more meat you should kill it yourself and eat it raw so that you are not blinded by the hypocrisy of having it processed for you." ~Margi Clark

Eating on The Run

It's tech week for my show and therefore means that Ill be spending a great deal mroe time at the theater. I was there until about midnight helping paint and random set stuff (I needed a break from looking at costumes) and will be there every night through opening weekend. It also means a lot more meals there or on the run. When I got there tonight the pizza they ordered arrived shortly after I did. I was offered food, but I'm trying to limit my pizza consumption for the most part this week, plus I was pretty sure there was meat on everything. The whole meat thing came up later when asked about Thanskgiving and if I got any turkey. As the mini discussion evolved on if turkey is meat or fowl on came the almost expected comment, "I bet you're no fun on a date." They always think they are funny and they generally always thing they are being original. (There are, of course, multiple variations of this aged joke.)

In the Words of Will Kellogg: "How can you eat anything with eyes?"

Thanksgiving Lull and Leftovers Jump Start the Christmas Season

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and all through the house not a person is cooking, not even a roast. Leftovers abound from yesterday’s feast. Stuffing and gravy, crackers and cheese. It’s that time of year where much of America is enjoying the leftover lull of the day after Thanksgiving and filling the stores for the biggest shopping day of the year. No cooking is going on in my house today, by anyone. There are plenty of things left to reheat or just enjoy straight from the fridge.

Of course now that Thanksgiving is behind us the Christmas season starts into full swing. (I am so glad I wasn’t anywhere near a store today to deal with the crowds and people. It was enough just to see the clips of people shopping at 5am this morning trying to scope out the best deals.) Christmas decorations will start to be pulled this week and I have started menu planning for our Christmas Eve Gathering as well as Christmas dinner . We always have friends and family over Christmas Eve for an Open House type deal with an appetizer type spread. It’s nice to just sit back and spend time with each other the night before the big day. My grandparents come over, a friend sating back to elementary school and her husband and kids, as well as other assorted family and friends. Bring on the Christmas season. (Just keep me away from the crowded malls with screaming kids and determined bargain hunters.)

Here’s to hoping the season is grand. Cheers!

Check me out here: http://www.VegSpace.com/greenapple

In the words of Alex Poulos: "I will not eat anything that walks, runs, skips, hops or crawls. God knows that I've crawled on occasion, and I'm glad that no one ate me."

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving, Just Like Everyone Else’s…. Well Almost

It’s Thanksgiving Day. A day of food, family, football games, parades, and leftovers. I got most of my food done last night (mushroom dressing [recipe below] and ranch cheese balls). The chopping, the sautéing, the mixing were all done then this morning and I did not have to get out of bed as early. (Yay for sleeping in… at least a little bit.) Then today I just had to bake the stuffing with everything else that was in the oven and make the mushroom/onion gravy once we got to the firehouse kitchen where this year’s family Thanksgiving meal was. I would much rather get things done ahead and stick in the refrigerator the night before.

Thanksgiving in my family, like pretty much everything else, is a noisy, active, busy day. We always have lots of food, lots, of people, and lots of leftovers to take home. You’re probably wondering about the whole vegetarian feasting with a meat eating family thing. First off, even with extended family present I am the only vegetarian. Most people don’t say anything anymore because it just is the way it is and the way it has been for a while. (For many of the in-laws the only way they remember it.) Second, I never go hungry and have just as much opportunity to fill my plate and overeat with the rest of them. While they feasted on their meat dishes and more traditional stuffing (as well as their traditional oyster dressing), I stuffed myself with mushroom dressing and homemade mashed potatoes smothered in mushroom gravy. The cupboard were full of different kinds of dressings, vegetables like homegrown corn (we get it in the summer then freeze it our self) and green beans, salad, rolls, a few casseroles (some I eat, others I avoid), relish trays of cheese and pickles, and lots of dessert choices from pies and cakes to puddings and bars. (I come from a family with sweet teeth, although somehow I am not one of them.) We ate, took the time to catch up with each other, chased the overwhelming number of small children that were running around, played games, and everyone took home leftovers.

Only two people even made any reference to the whole vegetarian thing. The first was my cousin’s fiancé when I asked her if she out bacon in her green beans (it ended up being a small piece of mushroom) and the second my jerky cousin-in-law that causes trouble pretty much where-ever he can. He kept trying to get his very young son to say things like “carnivore,” “I eat meat,” and “vegan” like it was an insult whenever I was around him (I do not take vegan as an insult, but I have given up correcting him that actually am not vegan). His young son never cooperated, he was too busy playing with his tractor, trying to get my glasses, and leading me back and forth to the kitchen just to look around. Somehow he thinks constantly making vegetarian attacks is funny, but I gave up responding to them a long time ago. He’s the one that sounds like a jerk, not me. I am content with my life choice and in the end that is all that matters.

Overall it was a good day. I had cousins there from out of town and out of state and there was not major drama. No one argued or fought and everyone had plenty to eat (and maybe a little more than plenty for some). My mom filled and took Thanksgiving plates to a few of her shut in clients with no or limited family. It was pretty much a typical holiday like the one many shared by many vegetarians and non-vegetarians across the country. Hope everyone had a wonderful one full of laughter, love, and joy.

My Fabulous Mushroom Dressing
One bag breadcrumbs (14-16oz bag approx or other preferred)
About one onion cut (and put through food chopper)
About 4 stalks of celery (chopped than put through chopper)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Package of mushrooms (I put most of them through chopper, then thinly slice rest)
Oil (to sauté vegetables… I also use a little water to sauté with to help cut amount oil used)
½ c. butter, margarine, or soy butter substitute
2 green onions chopped
2-3 c preferred liquid (I use a vegetable broth or you could use any combo water, broth, etc)
Sautee all vegetables except green onions. Mix bread crumbs, all vegetables (sautéed and not) in large bowl. Add warm liquid and melted butter or margarine. Mix well incorporating all the ingredients well). I took a masher with a wide bottom and mashed and mixed a little at the end. Put in baking dish. Bake at 350 until done.

In the words of James Cromwell: "We don't need to eat anyone who would run, swim, or fly away if he could."

From Mike Connolly: "Coexistence... what the farmer does with the turkey - until Thanksgiving."

Thanksgiving Another Year

It's that time again!!!

Just A Couple More Days Before Thanksgiving

Overall it has been just another day in just another week of my life. I’m keeping a somewhat busy schedule and am glad to be over the bug that seemed to be going around. (I usually bounce back pretty well.) With keep erratic hours at the theater I am glad to have leftovers frozen from past dinners (potato and mushroom casserole, vegetable lasagna, and black beans and rice). I went out to lunch at this local Italian restaurant for dinner with my family today and had this lovely pesto pizza and a nice green salad. It was even sprinkled with pine nuts to add a nice little texture to the mix. I love finding and trying new things at local restaurants that end up just making me smile. I may enjoy a nice salad (and especially a nice vinaigrette on it), but I need more adventure than just salad in my diet. I do enjoy food… preparing it, eating it, and sharing it.

I got the grocery things needed for Thanksgiving and started discussions about the food for Christmas Eve (we always have a Christmas Eve thing with finger food and lots of people). We have definitely entered that busy season of family, food, and holiday cheer. For me, it means meal planning not just for myself and others like me but helping prepare food that will appease both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Oh, the excitement that is upon is.

Hope ya’all are staying healthy, happy, and warm.

As a pre-holiday extra check out this link for more vegetarian information, recipes, and commentary: http://talkingvegetables.tripod.com/

From Robert Hutchinson, in his address to the British Medical Association, 1930: "Vegetarianism is harmless enough though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness."

Anther Day in Paradise

It's after midnight and is the start of a busy week. I'm getting ready to go into technical rehearsals with the show and prepping for the Thanskgiving food that I am taking to the large family gathering on Thursday. (So far I am taking my homemade stuffing, gravy, and an appetizer... and probably lima beans because i love love love them.)

In the words of Harvey Diamond: "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car."

In the words of George Bernard Shaw: "Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay."

Just a Video

Thanksgiving Thoughts. (I spent much of my day at the theater with set and costume stuff.)

From Henry David Thoreau: "One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make the bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying himself with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle."

Vegetarianism is Not a Punishment

I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion that many have that vegetarianism is about giving things up. (I did give up pain, nausea, and prescription medications by going vegetarian.) Many see this as a sacrifice. This is a lifestyle not a punishment. My body is better. My spirit is lighter. I am not suffering. “But don’t you miss it?” they ask, especially as the holidays approach. I don’t. I find harmony in the local farmers’ market and companionship from my animal friends. There is a whole, wide, wonderful world of yummy and satisfying food that does not have to include meat. Soul food. Comfort food. Light. Healthy. Hearty. Filling.

I’ve been going through recipe ideas for Thanksgiving. In my family everyone brings and almost everyone can cook very well. I first learned to cook from watching my mother, my grandmother, and my aunt; often needing a stool to help stir something or watch. Most measurements were by hand or coffee cup and everything was to taste. Now I pour over meal ideas a cross between the traditional German-influenced cooking of my family and the adventure of a meatless cuisine. I contemplate what new things I can expose my family to without too many complaints. They aren’t always as adventurous with food as I am, but I am continuing to work on them.

In the words of Buddha: "To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana."

Pasta Salad and Thanksgiving Humor for the Vegetarian

So, I'm still not feeling great and what I really want to to just feel better or for someone to baby me a little. That's not going to happen. I made some seasoned crackers (the kind where you use veggie oil and seasoning at crackers than bake for 15-20 minutes) and homemade pasta salad. I don't have a recipe for pasta salad. I have certain things I like in it and often use, but in the end it comes down to whatever I find in the cupboards and refrigerator. Today's combination is sun-dried tomatoes (sliced into smaller pieces), black olives, some sliced mushrooms (left from last night's pasta), almond slivers, some cheese bits (you could use none or use soy cheese crumbled, shredded, chunked, whatever), a blasamic vinegrette that I like, and a touch of prepared pesto (I've gotten in the habit of using just a bit to add a little bit of something else to the mix) all mixed with the pasta. You can really use just about anything you have on hand and that you enjoy together. My mom usually uses colorful peppers (I'm not a big fan of them raw) and diced tomato (I prefer the taste and texture of the sun-dried or semi-dried). Currently, it is sitting in the refrigerator letting everything kind of crisp and marinate together.

For Thanksgiving this year, as with most years, my family is planning a big shin-dig with everyone getting together. We have certain traditions that seem to appear every year from pretty much the same people. Especially after going vegetarian it became important for me to make sure there were foods that I would and could eat without giving up some of my holiday favorites. I always make homemade mushroom stuffing, vegetarian gravy of some type, some type of vegetable that has not been corrupted, and often some appetizer type thing (my stuffed mushrooms are always a big hit with vegetarians and meat-eaters alike). Hope all your plans for the season are fabulous.

Here's a little something to make you smile and maybe think too.

From Albert Einstein, physicist: "Nothing will increase chances of survival for life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."