This Veggie Thing

I try not to make a big deal out of it. With the exception of BRL (who actually went vegetarian first), not too many people are subjected to my comments and musing about my dietary habits. Sure, I may hint at it from time to time or bring it up when relevant to the situation at hand...and yes, sometimes I post disgusting videos of factory farming. But all-in-all, I don't think it's any more of an issue or imposition than any other hobby I might have taken up.

However, it's also not simply a hobby. It's a way of life. It's not a choice. God made me this way...or...I mean...

What brings this up is a recent conversation I had. After mentioned that I'd be making a dinner based on a meal ASH made for us while we were in NOLA, in passing I said I'd be substituting super firm tofu for chicken, to which the reply was, "So, you're still on that veggie kick, huh?"

The kicker is, this isn't a phase I'm going through. Given, like a lot of people, I too went through a vegetarian phase when I was younger. And yes, like most 8 year olds, I grew out of it. However, that was the classic testing of limits and simply attempting to be unique. But actually becoming a vegetarian was the product of a rational decision well analyzed with due attention to long-term health. I'm pretty much in this for the long-haul.

Now don't get me wrong. With the exception of this little tirade, I'm not what's referred to as a "vegan freak." Oddly, I am, for all intensive purposes, vegan. I use soy milk in cooking and on cereal and I don't eat eggs. However, I also don't freak out if the cookie I'm eating used eggs in the batter or if a soup was thickened with milk. And, for the most part, simply because a soup used chicken stock or the noodles were cooked in turkey broth, that's not a big deal to me. Yes, I wear a leather belt. Yes, I wear leather shoes. But, to be fair, the health benefits are superordinate to the ethical treatment of animals...and those items were bought pre-veganism. In general, though, anytime I have control over the situation, I'll refrain from eating animals or using their by-products.

But the meal itself ended up tasting great. The tofu soaked up quite a bit of the pineapple flavor, which was good, but almost counterproductive. Perhaps next time I'll sear the tofu first with a cumin rub to delineate the different tastes. Also, I underestimated the pepper needs. I only used one green bell pepper; I'm thinking next time I'll use two, one green and one orange. I did sub-out a red onion for the yellow, which I think worked extremely well. Finally, I think it needs something of a sauce. I'm thinking a mango salsa. Anyways, I'm going to try to practice on that a bit so that I can cook it for my non-veggie friends sometime. That and scrambled tofu...Mmmmm.

Ok, that was my one rant on the subject.

Fin.