Last May, I was deep into Netflix, watching a series of TED Talks on food. There were talks on being a locavore, on sustainability, on the history of bread, on the wide gap between the countries that have plenty and those that do not. One that actually impacted me personally was a short, short talk - only about 5 minutes long - by Graham Hill on weekday vegetarianism.
I am a lover of meat. I do not believe those who say humans were intended to be vegetarian. This is demonstrably false - our big expensive brains developed because of our penchant for high quality, fatty animal protein. I suffer from no ethical quandaries about animals giving up their lives to taste delicious on my plate (although I do buy ethically sourced meat). Nor do I believe that vegetarianism is healthier than being an omnivore. What I do believe, and what this episode explained so succinctly, is that factory farming the way it is done now is environmentally unsustainable. The water and energy used to get our burgers, steaks and ribs to our plates is insanely wasteful. I also believe that I certainly, and probably almost everyone in North America, eats far more meat than we actually need - conservatively, in the neighbourhood of 7 times more. That's right, we eat as much in a day as we need in an entire week, and then eat the same (at least) the day after.
So, after watching this talk, I decided to give it a try.
I set up my parameters - from Monday breakfast to Friday lunch, I was going to eat largely vegetarian. Fish could be an occasional indulgence. Friday dinner through Sunday dinner, I would have whatever I liked. I also had a restaurant clause, meaning that if I were out for a meal during the week, I could order what I liked, BUT if I ordered in I had to stick to the program. And during my week of vacation in August, I also lifted the meat ban.
It was hard at first. Veggie dishes just don't offer the same flavour and satiety as that little bit of animal protein offers. I discovered early on that to satisfy my taste buds, I could turn to Indian cooking. I took to making baingain bharta, a fiery, roasted eggplant curry. This gave me lunches to take to work. I experimented with chickpeas and bulger wheat for salads - I didn't want to go meatless by simply having pasta for every meal. I became adept at making vegetable hashes - beets, corn, carrots and peppers hashed together and served with a fried egg is quite satisfying. I discovered that a falafel sandwich can be pretty good.
I sought out television segments on vegetarian cooking. I tried a whole roasted celeriac recipe of Jamie Oliver's. It wasn't bad. I turned to a simple summer soup recipe from a TV segment I saw last summer. A chilled corn soup, with a shrimp salad. This was a real winner.
This endeavour has made me more creative with the ingredients. I have done more with corn and beets than ever before. Previously, I ate corn on the cob in the summer. Beets I boiled, then ate cold with vinegar. But now there are just so many options! Tonight, granted, Sunday, a meat night, I am having a beet and carrot fritter along with some duck. I have been using more fruit as well, and this has led me to more baking, my most successful creation being a peach, blueberry and (my new twist) Camembert pie.
As the weeks of summer rolled on, I found myself missing the meat less, and turning to fish to get me through less during the week. Don't get me wrong, I still anticipate Friday night, when I now almost always have some sort of beef. But through the weekend it is not meat-a-palooza. I have meat with dinner, but for other meals it doesn't always make it to my plate.
I have also spent less money. Not necessarily because fresh veggies are so much less costly than meat I (though undoubtedly there have been some savings there), but because I simply can't be as lazy. I order in less frequently. And when I do have meat... I do not skimp at all. Best quality. Since I am buying less, I am even more diligent about making sure what I buy is ethically sourced.
I would rule my experiment a success, but as the farmer's markets close up shop for the winter, and and the embarrassment of riches that is the summer and early fall selection of high quality fresh veggies dries up, am I going to continue? The answer is, I am going to try. There are winter squashes coming in to stores. And I can make a mean broccoli and cheddar soup. Cauliflower is one of my vegetable loves. So there are options. I will keep you posted on the results.
For observations and updates, follow me on twitter @culinarykira
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