The vegetarian option

Comment

Comment by Phillip on December 21, 2007 at 3:03pm

I agree with the seasonality issue. My father was talking about going to go some delicious asparagus and when told they were out of season he dismissed it with a "they are in the store all the time" comment, disregarding the quality. Commercially the prepackaged frozen or refrigerated options that contain meat are much more palatable than the slew of vegetarian or vegan options for convenience food. In my opinion most prepackaged vegetarian foods taste universally stale or nut-like. That may be a harsh critique and I have by no means tried all the veggie options out there, but it has been my experience having lived in the veggie capitol of California. I'm easily distracted and will have to admit the last place I worked our spring and summer veggie option was a risotto :) It was always such a joy for me however to have those customers who called ahead of time and said "oh I'm allergic to corn and wheat and I'm a vegan etc... ." It was also fun to create vegan dishes on the fly, but to really take the time to make a quality special needs menu for a customer that spanned many courses was a delight and was always appreciated by the guests.

Comment by Mark McKellier on December 21, 2007 at 8:41am

Hi RawDaddy - quite agree. I blame supermarkets - fruit and vegetables have lost their seasonality. You can now buy strawberries and asparagus all year around, yet if you grow them yourself you get them one month in the year (in the UK May is the asparagus month). And unless you can buy 'farm fresh' you never get vegetables at their best anyway. There is nothing like picking a pea pod from the plant, popping it open and eating the peas raw!

Comment by RawDaddy on December 21, 2007 at 8:22am

Personally I think vegetables are treated like second class food. Why is it, that they are not "show cased" on menu's? Why are there no vegetarian fast food restaurants or even great veggie option at fast food restaurants? Are we that lazy? Is meat so easy to come by and prepare that we forget about the vegetable? Eating more vegetables is a trend that is happening around the world. I believe we should make them first class food.

Comment by Mark McKellier on December 20, 2007 at 9:00am

Hi Carol - have to put you right there:
A vegan only eats foods from plants: fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds, and nuts.
A vegetarian is a vegan who will also eat diary products and eggs. Basically if the animal had to die then a vegetarian won't be interested - hence the rennet issue.

Comment by Michael L. Atkinson on December 19, 2007 at 2:49pm

BTW, great looking profile...colors very novel.

Comment by Michael L. Atkinson on December 19, 2007 at 2:49pm

My son is nearly vegetarian and over the past year, I eat less and less red meat. I have discovered a lot of great recipes that exclude meat. Frankly, other than the occasional Angus Beef Filet Mignon, (medium rare) with a great Burgundy, I prefer fish and veggies. OMG, it's happening...but I'm enjoying it too.