Free food whore

I believe I have gone two days without eating any meat. I have not, however, purchased any meat products. I told myself at the beginning that I would not turn down meat when in someone's home etc. Hm... what i've learned is that i'm offered meat EVERY DAY!!! Well, 7 out of 10 days anyway! So, i'm committed to uisng my purchasing power and shocked at how much people like to feed me!

Curious to hear more about Jeni's weekend.... need more recipes!

Solidarity and a fact-finding mission

Since Seth started reading Eating Animals a couple weeks ago (and certainly since he finished it, several days ago), we've really been on the same page vis a vis our meat intake--or rather, lack thereof. While I really never anticipated Seth seriously cutting back on (let alone eliminating) meat, I've really enjoyed the feeling of household solidarity that comes with not buying, cooking, or eating meat. True, I do the buying and cooking, but Seth has not made a single comment (read: complaint) about the lack of meat in our home diet. Last night, he very sweetly said, "It's so easy to be a vegetarian when you're cooking." While I love a good compliment--especially when it comes to my cooking--I was more touched by the gesture of solidarity. Like he's good with it.

Funny, as our first in-person meeting with the Rabbi who will likely co-officiate our wedding lead to a conversation about kosher law and meat eating, which lead to a conversation about where to buy reliable kosher meat, which lead to a suggestion by Seth that we Go to There. For Seth, this has been much more about the environmental impact (first) and humane treatment/slaughter aspects (second) of factory egg/meat production. So, we've agreed to investigate. BUT (and yes, the caps are meant to show this is a big "but"), I'm not completely sold on the reliability of any meat labeled "kosher" or "halal" and not sold at all on whether kosher/halal rules satisfy my personal comfort level and various reasons for currently not eating meat. Still, the possibility of getting "better" meat (another concept I'm really not sold on) is appealing to Seth.

For dinner that same night, we went to a great Mexican restaurant where pollo and carne asada sizzled away at the table next to us and those smells filled the entire place. We shared guacamole, quesadillas con rajas, and margaritas. We laughed and talked and ate and ate. And the meat was not missed. Or maybe it was, a little, but that's okay too.

I Cheated

This weekend I went to Napa. I ate wild boar, fish, a few bites of steak, and even allowed ham to enter my omelete while I gorged on lox and bagels.

Now why in the world would I do this? Granted all the meat I ate came from pretty stellar sources (as listed on the menu) and really I think wild boar is probably a good meat to eat- it's wild right? So while, I'm fine picking out vegetarian meals by myself I have a hard time telling other people what they can or cannot eat. I spent the weekend sharing meals, trying to get both the sweet and savory breakfast entree, and maximizing my culinary experience. I didn't want to tell my dining partner that we had to choose only meat free products. So I didn't.

I gave in.
I gave in for a boy.
Cheating never feels good.

I promise it was just this once. I'm committed to this month long experiment. I can do this. I can.

I tried...

Well I was vegetarian for a whole week. I did good, cooked some yummy meals. But I started feeling really lethargic and just completely rundown. I think I have decided that when you are pregnant is not the time to start messing with protein intake and trying to start completely new eating habits. I think maybe when the baby is born I might try again, but for now I am just going to be more conscious of the meat I do eat.

So I give into the Pregnancy gods and am gonna eat meat when I feel like I need to...

But on a good note - I showed my classes Food Inc. and I have 5 students who are trying to be vegetarian - so cute.