New Additions

It's been rather quiet around here the last couple days. The snow is starting to melt and it's all slush, muddy spots, & icey patches. Happy January, right?

For Christmas I go a new set of pots and pans from my mom- all black with colorful butterflies. I am determined to keep them meat-free, but haven't found the inspiration to break them out yet. It's coming, but I have barely felt like even cooking lately. Their time will come.

Most of the excitement around our house has been the arrival of a new puppy. She's a black lab mix & spends her time sleeping or chasing around the other dogs. At just over six weeks she is already bigger than my elderly pom. He tolerates her in his typical way; unconcerned, as long as she isn't laying on top of him. Our dogs really are a part of our family and serve as a constant reminder that I have chosen the right lifestyle and diet. We have three now (my sister has another two). Two are shelter dogs; my 4 lb. mini pomeranian (who is about11-13 yrs old) and our bull boxer (originally said to be a boxer/beagle mix when we brought him home). The newest addition is the first girl dog I think we have ever had and the product of a golden retriever mix farm dog who spent some time with a neightbor's pure black lab. She cuddles and chases the bull boxer. It's amusing for me to watch my brothers melt over her, clicking pictures and taking turns cuddling with her.

We have always been an animal family. Hamsters, birds, a guinie pig, and couple of rabbits, a couple of goats, 2-3 frogs, and cats. What is strange to me is that growing up we were always a cat family, starting with a stray runt born in our garage that couldn't keep up with his mother and siblings. He was so small when we found him that he had to be fed soaking a peice of rag in milk and letting him suckle. After him there were years without a cat or anything until one December my sister brought home a bischon puppy. Between my siblings and I, we are now up to five dogs and two cats, mostly rescues. I can't imagine not having them in our lives. Sometimes I hear stories though and I wonder how people can possibly hurt this beautiful, loving companions that enrich our lives so completely. My pom was abused and it took him and I years to work on undoing some of the damage. He's missing all of his front teeth now and his eyesight is going, but I'm glad to know that for the last six years he has a comfortable and sometimes spoiled existance.

"Would you kill your pet dog or cat to eat it? How about an animal you're not emotionally attached to? Is the thought of slaughtering a cow or chicken or pig with your own hands too much to handle? Instead, would hiring a hit-man to do teh job give you enough distance from the emotional discomfort? What animal did you put a contract out on for you supper last night? Did you make sure that none went to waste and to take a moment to be grateful for its sacrifice?" -- Anonymous

Vegetarian Culture

“Vegetarian Culture” -- a phrase heard in regarding restaurants and people understanding and embracing the ‘vegetarian culture.’ How does the concept of a “vegetarian culture” change in regards to geography, environment, family situation, upbringing, etc? Vegetarian culture in regards to internet, community, religion? Groups? “…Because they understand the vegetarian culture…” is a phrase I recently heard in regards to a restaurant and the offerings in their menu. I, like I am sure many others living a meat-free life, live in an area that does not offer a lot of like-minded individuals in this area. How does the vegetarian culture as whole affect the lives we lead with little personal interaction from other vegetarians?

This is sonething I have been thinking about a lot lately, along with the feelings isolation that is connected to loving in my house and in this part of the country. I've only a few friends who don't eat and most of them have gone back to those meat eating ways or it is a Lent thing. Once in a local grocery store I had someone ask me about my preferred type of veggie burger while I was shopping in that area. My brother, who was with me at the time, was floored. There are others!!! For a moment my lifestyle suddenly seemed almost normal to him as he met a rather normal woman who shared in this journey, but overall this has been the exception. On the whole I feel rather detached from the whole of "vegetarian culture." It's something I am a part of, but also something that seems so far away.

I meet people occassionaly who claim to be vegetarian... but they eat chicken, seafood, and attack others for choosing not to. I occasionally meet people who at least try to respect it, but I also meet a lot of people who just end up attacking me for it or puzzled over the "sacrafise." Sometimes, it feels like a rather isolated journey in a world that thinks I am nuts. Sometimes it would be nice to not feel way.
I did a net search... in hope of finding some other thoughts on it.

* "The Importance of Vegetarian Culture" http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97sep/979cult.htm
* "Good for the Gods: India" http://www.veggieheadonline.com/india.html
* http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Building-Vegetarian-Culture/
* "Vegetarian & Vegan Diets" @ 'Home Chef' http://www.chefhome.com/Cookbook/Vegetarian.shtml
* "The Vegetarian Channel" http://www.thevegetarianchannel.com/directory/News/Publications/213.html
* "Becoming a Vegetarian" http://becoming-a-vegetarian.blogspot.com/

"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals." ~George Orwell, Animal Farm

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."