Observations

This blog began as a way for me to chronicle becoming vegetarian. Not knowing what to expect, or for that matter even how long it might last, I experienced each new day as a child might: in a state of wide-eyed discovery, excited by new experiences, cuisines and flavors. Now, nearly seven months later my "experiment" has become a second nature way of life. Discoveries continue, however, and experiences and observations continue to excite.

What follows are my observations after seven months of eschewing all meat, including chicken, fish and shell fish, with consumption of dairy and eggs very limited:

• Less joint pain. MUCH less! The chronic inflammation in my knees has completely disappeared.
• Happier, more peaceful outlook. Sounds weird, I know, but my moods seem to be steadier. I even experienced less SAD this winter despite long bouts of rain and gray skies.
• Less hot flashes, increased libido. Yippee.
  
• Curling hair - I kid you not! - with much less graying. Sounds ridiculous, but I swear to you within the last six months my stick straight hair has gotten progressively more wavy, what I'd now call nearly curly, and noticeably less gray. This is huge, people. I have been coloring my hair so long I have no clue what it would be in it's natural state anymore. What I do know is that for the last few years my roots have been coming in WHITE. Rather than dark roots sending me to the salon, it was a silver beanie. Even my hairdresser has noticed the lack of roots lately. Hmmmm. And the curls! My trademark straight bob no longer works for me, I got tired of struggling against the curls.
• Weight gain. Sad but true. I have put on, despite efforts not to, about 6 or 7 pounds, which works out to about a pound a month. The good news is the pound a month actually glommed on more or less at once early on and hasn't continued accruing. The bad news is I find it nearly impossible to budge it and am working instead not to add to it. Sigh.

All in all, what began as an experiment has been, for me, such a fun and positive awakening, I can't imagine ever going back to my old way of eating. Sometimes I think I should learn to include at least shrimp, so going out to dinner, etc., would be easier - mostly for my dining companions. I tell myself I can have anything I want, therefore removing labels and expectations I feel I have to live up to. It isn't a matter of CAN'T eat meat, it is choosing not to. My decision to adopt a vegetarian diet had more to do with tastes changing than health, ethical or lifestyle reasons, though the side effects have impacted my physical, mental and spiritual health in positive, sometimes surprising ways.

At 54 I have experienced enough of life's little ironies to adopt the mantra, "Never say never".

For the foreseeable future I remain ... happily vegetarian.

Love,
Cleo

Under Pressure

If you've never cooked with a pressure cooker, you do not know what you're missing! I know, I know, all those horror stories ... Forget them! Today's modern cookers have taken the fear, the stigma, and even the guess work out of the process. Stigma? OK, I'll admit to pressure cooker prejudice, born, as most assumptions are, of ignorance. Fortunately, I am open to having my opinions changed, in this case the catalyst being Simply Heavenly, the out of print, previously owned, well used and ridiculously expensive vegan cookbook I recently purchased through Amazon (commented on in a previous post). It advocates using a pressure cooker for perfect seitan, and made a good enough case for it I decided to try it. So glad I did! And of course, now that I have, a whole new world is opening, literally changing how I cook as a vegetarian. But don't think a pressure cooker is for veggies only! I wish I'd had one in my OMD's (old meat days), but of course, I was stupider then. *giggle*

First order of business was to do a little research. I quickly learned there are basically two types of PC's (sorry Bill Gates): inexpensive aluminum pots with traditional pressure components - basically what you remember rocking and rolling on your grandmother's stove top - and the new, sleek, stainless euro models, which are not only pretty, but are equipped with numerous fail safes. These do not rattle and jiggle on the stove, but rather emit a steady stream of steam with a gentle hiss or whistle when at pressure. After reading many reviews and a few trips to cooking stores, I opted for a Fagor Elite; middle of the road in both price and gadgetry, purchased at Macy's. I have used it nearly every day since, for things as disparate as stuffed cabbage, beans, and of course the reason for it's being, seitan, with consistently satisfying results.

Below are pics of my first attempt at stuffed cabbage:

For most of my married life I have heard my husband talk about his Hungarian grandmother's "Pigs in Blankets", AKA stuffed cabbage. In the little cookbook that came with the Fagor pot was a recipe for Hungarian style stuffed cabbage. Intrigued, I changed the ground meat out for unbeef soy crumbles, and voila! It was delicious, took a total of approximately 30 minutes to make, 12 of which were actual cook time, and scored big points with DH. Yum.


Cleo

Oh Happy Day!

Monday was a good day. I received a long awaited out of print book ordered from Amazon, and discovered a fantastic new international market on the same afternoon!

The book is Simply Heavenly, by Abbot George Burke: 1,400 Vegetarian Recipes from the Kitchen of Holy Protection Orthodox Monastery.

I don't even know where I first learned about this book, but I knew I had to have it. It is described by those fortunate enough to own it as the holy grail - no pun I swear! - of vegan cookbooks, with whole chapters devoted to my obsession, seitan. Unfortunately, I soon discovered the few copies available are quite pricey. Despite being previously owned, somewhat dogeared and ridiculously expensive, I scooped up a copy I found through a reseller on Amazon, hoping I hadn't lost my vegetarian mind. After having a few days to peruse and test drive, I can say unequivocally, this book is - again, no pun - an absolute Godsend! Particularly for someone like me who lives with and cooks for non-vegetarians who do not want to eat bland or "weird" food. I am not a fancy cook, but consider myself a pretty good country cook, which often means flavoring things with meat. Pork, specifically. I admit to wondering how I'd flavor my greens and beans now that fatback is off the table, but with this book it is no longer a concern. The other night I made collards with the "unham" flavoring recipe on page 156, which amazingly bears no resemblance to anything ham-like, yet imparts the smokey, salty, essence needed to give the greens the correct flavor and mouth feel, with much less fat. Hubby raved and proclaimed the endeavor a success, so there you go. I am just tickled pink I splurged on this book. If you can find it somewhere I suggest you do the same!

TTFN -

Cleo