@phendrick It should be. One of the guys I used to mountain bike with brewed his own beer. The peanut butter oatmeal stout was definitely a meal unto itself.
It was okay. We were doing an after cancer diet in solidarity with my mum, and the food was pretty good throughout. Getting enough protein was kind of hard since she isn’t supposed to have most soy derivatives or a few of the other main protein sources, since they are apparently biologically similar to the hormones that fueled her particular type of cancer and could cause a relapse. We could probably make it work now with some fish and eggs and such, or maybe some of the newer protein variants, but those aren’t really plants.
Even though we were pretty much straight vegan and didn’t often eat anything else, we all ended up gaining weight. It doesn’t matter how healthy or not the food is if you’re eating more of it (possibly to make up for the lower protein). The food itself was tasty and we didn’t really feel the need to eat anything else, but we were apparently eating more of it and had no idea for several months.
Also, none of the various health issues anyone had seemed to be meaningfully affected by the diet, including some for which vegan, gluten free, or similar diets are suggested as remedies. It also tended to cost more than normal meals and take more time to prepare, but those were considered (and would be) worthwhile sacrifices in the name of reducing cancer reoccurrence. Still, we occasionally make a few of the dishes now and again because they are tasty.
@jsfs
Interesting. I’m surprised to hear you gained weight but after some thought it makes sense if you were eating more. It is about calories after all. The lack of protein is the hard part, that can really mess you up. I don’t think I could ever do vegan, I’d have to include eggs and fish. I hope it worked well for your mom and she beat the cancer!
@jsfs@Lynnerizer yeah it is basically because the protein is replaced by carbs. Most vegans eat a fair amount of potatoes and pasta and rice lots and lots of rice and that can add up but many
@Cerridwyn@jsfs@Lynnerizer My wife had an ex-boyfriend (presumably only before we were married…??) that did exactly that. Lots of carbs. I don’t think he stuck on the diet for too long.
Maybe I should be thankful it maybe made me relatively equally attractive (and handsome and richer?) I can say my useless carbs came from beer and wine mostly.
Many cultures have healthy vegetarian diets, if done correctly. It turns out many cultures had healthy vegetarian meals because it was cheap. (Back before a cauliflower head cost $7). It turns out rice & beans, Italian pasta e fagioli, collards and beans, map to something that helps your body absorb the nutrients efficiently. But the order and cooking method are important.
@Cerridwyn@jsfs@pmarin
Why or how is the order of cooking important? I’ve never heard that before. Unless I’m misunderstanding you… I think you’re saying that it makes a difference in it’s nutritional value depending on the order in which it’s cooked?
@Cerridwyn@jsfs@Lynnerizer@pmarin I’m thinking it’s more in ingestion order. Not exactly “beer before liquor makes you sicker”, but probably start with with vegetables to fill yourself before you chow on carbs.
(Though some nutrients depend on combination; potassium helps absorption of calcium if I remember; and of course some medication is inert if eaten with grapefruit or turnip)
@highonpez@Lynnerizer Yum. I make a mean dal. I am definitely a meatatarian, but I’m not adverse to preparing a vegetarian dish or even, ‘gasp’ a vegan dish. I like food. I can cook. Cook with fresh ingredients and you can make a solid meal
@capnjb@highonpez
Yeah I think that could get pretty pricey. I’ve gotten stuff before that’s packaged with dry ice and shipped in a styrofoam cooler. I’m sure it’s affordable when purchased in bulk but that’s about it. If you ever decide to start a business I’m down for it, until then some pictures of your tasty food would be great! And so much better for my waistline! Lol
@highonpez@Lynnerizer Send me a whisper with your address and when I figure it out, I’ll get it shipped. Shit… it took me about two years to send @star2236 some freshly roasted coffee but I just got that done I don’t like the post office, but when I commit, I commit to the bit I occasionally get things shipped to me in dry ice so maybe next time, I can figure something out and keep the box moving your way
@capnjb
I have been looking and looking for your name through the treads to thank you lately and I just haven’t seen it. Thank you very much for the coffee and mini hot sauces and the coffee cup. I absolutely love those coffee cups. I used to have a lot of them and then family wanted some and from moving the rest got broke from shitty movers so I’m grateful to have one again. I haven’t had the coffee yet, I’ve been getting coffee on the road lately bc of timing and how things work out ( and it’s been super hot lately) but it’s definitely on my list. I didn’t want you to think I was one of those people that’s not gracious for the little things and the time that people take out of their day to do nice things. Thank you very much.
@Star2236 I’m happy it arrived in one piece And sorry it took two years two years to deliver on my promise. I guess I could just fib and say I can’t believe it took UPS that long to deliver it
Yes UNFORTUNATELY. I worked somewhere that provided room and board and that is what the cook would make. I hated a lot of it. Two Australians worked there and when someone went to town (4 hours away) they asked them to bring back some big Macs. They put them in the oven styrofoam container and all (so that tells you how long ago that was). The heat completely melted the containers. They thanked us sitting in the kitchen for removing the hamburgers from the containers. We told them we didn’t. They ate the hamburgers and buns anyway. That was also gross but they were that desperate for meat.
Maybe some kangaroo roadkill found by the side of the road? I would love to go there but the 20-hour flight is intimidating. Plus I don’t know if they accept we warlike people.
Would love to take a “drive across the country” but realize it is bigger than the U.S., central roads are often not paved, a few hundred km between “petrol” stations or food. (Except the roadkill which apparently is in abundant supply)
I worked for many years for Seventh Day Adventist institution. The first iteration many many vegetarians of course. By the second time I was there many of those people had become vegan and many of the rest of them started eating Make Believe it or not. But I was not overall a fan. There are dishes that don’t have animal products in them that are quite good. But eat that way all the time no way
@Cerridwyn My daughter has a vegan friend and my kid is a Thanksgiving birthday kid so typically birthday parties got pushed into mid December. It was going to be a Gingerbread house making party. Vegan mom sent vegan kid to the party with a vegan gingerbread house kit. I get it. But I didn’t get it. No one is eating the house Then I broke out sour cream and onion freeze dried crickets and she was a no. All the other girls ate one after I ate two and looked around the room and gave them a double dog dare. You can’t leave my house without a story
@capnjb for many people it seems like it’s almost a religion and I don’t mean that literally or maybe I do? They almost proselytize like a Jehovah’s Witness.
@Cerridwyn When my dog went to puppy school there were two Indian gentlemen there with a giant black German Shepherd. Amazingly beautiful dog. They were vegan and were raising their dog vegan. I get that dogs are omnivores, but don’t get a dog and treat it like it’s an herbivore. I’ll probably get some comments about that statement. I’ll take the shots.
That beautiful dog learned nothing during those classes because it was largely treat reinforced training. When all the other owners pulled out treats made of beef, lamb or salmon, they were offering seaweed. Dogs can smell so much better than we can and it just looked around like, ‘I WANT THAT’
@Cerridwyn I was brought up SDA but my family ate meat. There were some on my mothers side that did the SDA vegetarian thing. When they/we visited I ate their very weird stuff… a ton of super expensive canned “meat” things shaped into hotdogs, burgers, nuggets. I looked on the labels and was shocked at how unhealthy everything was! Tons of sodium and chemicals.
While in uni I discovered the Pritikin diet and used that as a guide to vegan. It lasted more than a year and I fought off colds better than the roomies. I ended it when I moved to Tokyo and discovered it was too expensive to try following that there.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@pmarin
I’d say tofu is about one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever put in my mouth! I can’t even say ‘eaten’ because I just couldn’t even get it down!
@capnjb@Cerridwyn Regarding the vegan gingerbread house:
Veganism isn’t a diet. Veganism is about living one’s life in a way to try to minimize the suffering of animals.
So a vegan also isn’t going to buy a leather wallet or a goose-down coat or own a pet that isn’t from an animal shelter or something. So a vegan wouldn’t want to build a gingerbread house that included dairy products or non-vegan gelatin.
I’m not a vegan. I don’t share their principals, but I really respect that they have principals and actually live their lives in accordance with that they say they believe.
@Cerridwyn@Limewater That’s fair. But I’m pretty sure the kits we bought were mostly vegan. Or at least included parts that could be left out. Like Hershey kisses.
I wasn’t being judgy. Or at least I wasn’t trying to be. Everyone walks their own path. I respect that. I just want to be able to walk my own path without disdain from others on different paths. I feel like I’m being a dick, but I love people and really want everyone to live their best lives. It just bothers me when I respect their path and they tell me my path is wrong. Sorry… this wasn’t intended to go that sideways.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn I hope I didn’t come across as telling you that you were being a dick. That was not my intent. I was just hoping to clarify why a vegan would care about something they aren’t going to eat being vegan.
But, if you believe in any kind of objective morality, you’re going to end up believing that somebody is doing something wrong.
If you believe that abortion is murdering a baby, you are going to believe that the person who believes it is okay is wrong.
If you believe that enslaving another human being is wrong, you are going to believe that the person who believes it is okay is wrong.
If you believe that sacrificing virgins to appease the gods is wrong, you are going to believe that the people sacrificing virgins are wrong.
I don’t see a way around this.
@capnjb@Limewater I decided I needed to lighten this up a little bit not that I don’t agree with both sides to an existent. Live and let love is not necessarily A philosophy that is embraced these days. But to sacrifice a virgin, especially one of age, I have to find one first
@Limewater We’re good. And you make solid, valid, thoughtful points. This kind of discussion is good and welcome. But I am going to have steak for dinner I really appreciate intelligent discourse.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn this is anecdotal, but my best friend had a late husky that went vegan … Out of necessity. This was a 17 year old mountain dog that would be spending the last 4 years of their life in a city, and they couldn’t handle meat any more. Soy sauce tofu and baked chili beans were fine; farting was more frequent, but that was going to happen with age anyway. As long as they were still eating and without diarrhea, it was a solution to extend the life of a breed that lives to about 15.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@pmarin I have to agree that tofu alone is very disgusting. I usually pick it out of soups. However, Alton Brown’s Tofu chocolate pie is very tasty and you would never know that you are eating tofu. Of course anything with enough chocolate in it is pretty tasty.
Well that’s wonderful for the dog and their family! I say WHATEVER IT TAKES (within reason) to extend the life of whomever and keep the love and life of the family together and going!
For plant-based cuisine you’re better off with Asian food - Indian, Chinese, Japanese - countries where people have been vegetarian for centuries. There’s a wonderful high-end chain in Japan called “Ume no Hana” (Plum Blossom.) They serve a menu of various soy-based dishes, although you can also get meat and fish. Our relatives took us to 2 different locations by coincidence but we were perfectly happy with that! https://cookingwithyoshiko.com/vegan-kaiseki-at-ume-no-hana-takarazuka-japan/
I’m flexaterian, no red meat or pork or fish bc it’s texture thing. I do enjoy impossible burgers quite frequently but don’t go all out and get all the other crap they offer. I have bought and eaten some stuff before but like someone else said it’s loaded with sodium and shit and I’m a label reader. I try to keep the sodium, carbs, sugar and etc to a minimum.
@Star2236
I’ve never heard of flexaterian but I do understand the whole texture thing. I couldn’t get a banana down due to it’s texture until I was around 45, same thing with oranges. I could handle it frozen and covered in chocolate though. Lol It’s the mushy factor for me, and the pulp. I’ve always had to have pulp free OJ. My sister’s favorite thing was chicked beef and you eat that over toast. Couldn’t stomach that either.
You know what’s funny, I grew up eating Lebanese food and one of my favorites was raw kibbie which is actually raw lamb ground up several times with bulgar wheat and onions. You scoop it up in a piece of syrian bread and dip it in hot melted butter.
So while I’m grossed out with many simple foods/fruits here I am eating raw lamb! These days it’s not really a smart idea because of everything they feed the animals and the pesticides that are used. You just never know. And, we’d always get our lamb from a Lebanese butcher and he knew how we’d serve it and give us the young ones. I know, sounds bad and I’m sure it turns a lot of people off. I’ve made it for friends (always warning them exactly what they were going to eat) and everyone who tried it loved it.
@Lynnerizer
I not really an orange juice drinker (have a bladder issue and can’t have anything high in acid) but as a kid I could never do oj with pulp either. My boyfriend buys it that was and it grosses me out. Same with lemonade (if I ever cheat and have some). I found all my dads old recipes and there was some from when mom was still married to him and kibbie was one of them. I always wondered what it was bc she said it was good. Is all kibbie raw?
@Star2236
No all kibbie isn’t raw. We also make cooked kibbie which is the same recipe except we add pine nuts. I’ve heard of people substituting walnuts for the pine nuts because they’re so expensive at $27 to $30 per pound. We just use a little less, it’s worth it. You cook it in a shallow baking dish, a 9" X 13" brownie pan works great. We eat it with plain yogurt and usually have a side of tabouli. That’s the syrian/mediterranean salad made of bulgar wheat, tomatoes and mint with a oil and lemon juice dressing. YUM! The two other family favorites are meat pies and grape leaves. Both are served with plain yogurt, my grandmother always made it herself. Our grape leaves are filled with a hamburger meat and rice mixture. I see them made with chickpeas but I don’t really care for those very much.
I’m curious what nationality your mom is, did she have lots of mediterranean recipes? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who even heard of kibbie, not unless they were syrian or of similar heritage, or knew someone who was. You should make it, it’s super easy!
@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I wish there was a really good Middle Eastern restaurant near here. We had one briefly - it was Lebanese! A teensy place but I could walk over for lunch from work, and he made the MOST divine baba ganoush, I couldn’t get enough of that. His hummus was great too. I’d get a combo plate with those things and felafel and rice and tabouli. It was so healthy and wonderful!
@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I haven’t been to either one of them but we have two nearby both of which are Lebanese Mexican Fusion restaurants. One is higher end as in white linen napkin type place and the other one is more casual fast food. somewhat fascinating. We also have a Lebanese bakery that delivers to one of my local coffee shops once a week. They make a lot of reimagined Lebanese pastries. He said that some of the ingredients are just too expensive and so they figured out substitutes that put the same heart into it
@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@Star2236 TWO Lebanese Mexican fusion restaurants in one town?! How odd - are they connected? I’d love to hear what the food is like if you ever try it.
@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I honestly don’t think so. But I don’t know. The nicer one is been around for quite a while. The more fast foodie one just opened in a food court earlier this year. It might be that the one influence the opening of the other? I have no clue I’ll try to see if I can find a link to one of the menus
@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@Star2236 That food looks delicious! We used to have a little place doing Indian Mexican fusion but I never tried it. I think it closed during the Covid shutdown.
@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I do a Filipindian fusion with Indian tarka dal and Filipino lumpia. It works really well together. And all the carbs you need for a week
@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 No. Early in my IT career I had a Filipino manager and his wife made lumpia. We’d all just throw money at him and every other week we’d get a giant tray of hot lumpia. When I really found a passion for cooking I decided I wanted to make my own lumpia so after a few attempts I finally got it right. The key is finding the right wrapper. They are tissue thin. I’d never call it authentic out of respect, but they are pretty dang tasty
@Lynnerizer
My mom and dad had really good friends that were Jewish and that’s who they got the recipe from. I don’t eat red meat or pork so it’s definitely not a thing for me.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Star2236
I had no clue what lumpia was, I’ve never even heard of it. I looked it up and WOW, it’s crazy how many different kinds there are, both sweet and savory! And I was wondering what the red dipping sauce was that I was seeing. Turns out it’s something else I’ve never heard of, banana ketchup!
I got my info from Wikipedia, and there’s lots of links that took me to find even more yummy looking stuff. The Lumpiang keso which is really just cheese sticks caught my eye, they’re wrapped in a egg crepes.
It’s pretty basic… pork, onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage… and whatever spices float your boat. The wrapping is the tricky part. It’s like trying to wrap a Chipotle burrito in a Kleenex tissue A good dipping sauce is also important.
@Kyeh@Star2236
We have a Lebanese restaurant not too far but of course it’s never as good, or the same as the home cooking I grew up with. My grandmother/Sitto was also a delicious baker. She’d have everything spread out over her entire kitchen and dining room, just like everyone else’s Sitto would do. Lol It was an event and she did it often! The mumol cookies were always my favorite. They’re a light and flaky shortbread cookie that’s stuffed with either a date or nut mixture, pistachios or walnuts. I found a woman from Florida on Etsy that makes them just like hers. I’ve only ordered them twice but it may be time to make it a third time! We’ve got two local syrian bakeries, one of them only has frozen cookies shipped in and they’ve always had that freezer burned taste, I won’t even buy them anymore. The other place has delicious homemade sweets but a very small selection.
About 1.5 hours away, in Massachusetts there’s this AW3SOME and authentic syrian bakery called Sam’s. It’s a tiny brick building with standing room only, at lunchtime the line goes around the block. And if you want to be sure you get your stuff you better call and reserve your order, especially when a holiday is near, or if you’re driving over an hour to get there! Lol They have the BEST meat pies, spinach pies, and fresh baked syrian bread. (There’s another place right around the corner from them but their pies give me indigestion) That’s our go to place since it’s too much for me to make that stuff anymore. I was the only one in our family who made the meat pies after Sitto died, she passed me the torch!
You can read about it here… https://sams-bakery.res-menu.com
These pictures are making me drool! This is the fresh syrian bread I’m always mentioning! YUM!
@Lynnerizer@Star2236 Oh, lucky you - I love how totally no-nonsense that place looks!.You just know it’s great if they don’t need to make it look like anything more than what it is. Sounds wonderful!
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@Star2236 For a short while we had a great Chinese dumpling place where they made the potsticker-style dumplings by hand and you could see them doing it so deftly. They sold those and a few salads - cucumber, peanut butter noodle, and a genuinely delicious tofu salad (you have to marinate and flavor tofu a LOT, but then it’s good.) And of course because it was small and simple it got overlooked and went under.
@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 That sucks. I do my best to support small businesses that do things right. I’ve been doing IT for over 25 years but before that I ran restaurants for 5 years. It is an unforgiving industry.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Star2236
Everything sounds delicious except for the tofu, I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan no matter what it’s marinated with and for how long. Lol Maybe it’s a texture thing but I just can’t do it.
I really think Tofu is an acquired taste. that being said, there are people who can do interesting things with it. But nope, nope nope.
Back when I was a staff nurse in the hospital, there was this patient. She was on the medical floor being treated for anorexia with TPN (that’s why medical back then especially). She weighed something like 55 lbs (she also had old school silicone breast implants, so her appearance was somewhat stereotypical). They only thing she would eat was tofu. Nuked in the microwave with pepper. That wasn’t the ewww though.
After she finally put on a bit of weight and stuff and went home, she came back with a gift for the staff. Back then, you ate it. Well it looked like a cheese cake. OH my fuckinsauce it was nothing like one. I can still taste it even though I cannot describe it and it was neigh onto 40 years ago.
@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I didn’t know you were a nurse Cerridwyn. After two long months in the hospital, nurses are my favorite people on the planet. I had a rough run, but my nurses kept me in the game. If I ever seen any one in scrubs, I buy their meal
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Kyeh@Star2236
OMG that sounds disgusting! I can’t even imagine what it tasted like. And it’s funny how she thought THAT would be a nice thank you gift…
I’ve dealt with my own ED and thankfully I never got THAT thin/low in weight, at 100lbs I knew I needed help! It’s a very long and hard recovery process, I hope she’s living healthy these days.
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@Star2236 Yeah, I don’t like tofu disguised as other things. But I grew up with it since my mother’s Japanese; she didn’t cook with it but we’d get in restaurants, like in miso soup (you probably don’t like miso either! )
I think the extra soft stuff has the nicest texture, like an egg custard. But there is a weird dry taste to it until it’s been seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, all the things with strong flavors.
Cerridwyn - I hope your patient is doing well now too!
@capnjb@Cerridwyn@Lynnerizer@Star2236 I love miso salmon! So for texture - is it the hard tofu you’re talking about? I get that, it’s kind of like a kitchen sponge. But the super soft kind is like firm yoghurt or something. But I get it - my big ick is slimy viscous stuff - keep that okra away from me!
Since I don’t eat it really I can’t tell you. Have I probably eaten stuff with it in it, yes because I worked in an SDA Hospital system for too many years. But you know if something’s got enough of some kind of goofy sauce on it you can eat almost anything, but not okra.
Ha! When I read “my big ick is slimy viscous stuff” okra came to my mind immediately! We grew up eating okra so I’ve been trained! Lol And, it’s also about the only slimy thing I can tolerate! Oysters aren’t a favorite for just THAT reason, but I LOVE whole belly clams. They both have texture issues but still very different.
Not all vegetable diets are great. Beer and fries will kill you faster than a bloody steak.
Personally I’ll eat whatever is cheap, and vegetables (even if it’s $7 for a head of cauliflower) are still cheaper and easier to preserve. They can also be “sausage-d” for easy consumption (broccoli smoothie). I still like meat, but that’s become a semi-regular food compared to rice, pasta, beans, mushrooms (mmm), carrots, potatoes, onions, eggplant, etc. I’m most upset that pies are now a “sometimes treat” (too much delicious lard). Though honestly I probably use way to much oil in my chili (from cheese).
I keep thinking of vegetarian as an insult, because as a kid I religiously played this sci-fi game with a plant alien species:
https://www.sa-matra.net/quotes/sc2/supox/
“Now I’m hungry, but I’m sick and tired of sunlight, sunlight, sunlight! I want some REAL food!!! Like a hamburger or a steak… better yet, how about a dog!”
“Arrgh, you hideous monsters, vegetarians, defilers of the leaf!”
(I will plug that this game is still playable today, and for free, on phones and PC as “Ur-Quan Masters”. It’s really a joy to read and the dialogue choices, even if you just go to the website listed above.)
@pakopako I love to cook but I never start out saying, I need to make a vegetarian dish. Or a vegan dish. But they happen frequently. There are times I might do that if I’m hosting something and I have a guest with a certain diet. We are getting into summer and I love fresh veg. Most of the meals I make in the summer are either vegetarian or vegan. My tomatoes are starting to turn red and I could live off gazpacho all summer long. That is likely vegan, but I haven’t run through all the ingredients in V8 Pasta and roasted summer squash are a wonderful combination but yeah, I’ll probably be adding some butter and some fresh parm.
Nope, I highly doubt I EVER Will.
Depends … is beer considered “plant-based”?
@phendrick It should be. One of the guys I used to mountain bike with brewed his own beer. The peanut butter oatmeal stout was definitely a meal unto itself.
It was okay. We were doing an after cancer diet in solidarity with my mum, and the food was pretty good throughout. Getting enough protein was kind of hard since she isn’t supposed to have most soy derivatives or a few of the other main protein sources, since they are apparently biologically similar to the hormones that fueled her particular type of cancer and could cause a relapse. We could probably make it work now with some fish and eggs and such, or maybe some of the newer protein variants, but those aren’t really plants.
Even though we were pretty much straight vegan and didn’t often eat anything else, we all ended up gaining weight. It doesn’t matter how healthy or not the food is if you’re eating more of it (possibly to make up for the lower protein). The food itself was tasty and we didn’t really feel the need to eat anything else, but we were apparently eating more of it and had no idea for several months.
Also, none of the various health issues anyone had seemed to be meaningfully affected by the diet, including some for which vegan, gluten free, or similar diets are suggested as remedies. It also tended to cost more than normal meals and take more time to prepare, but those were considered (and would be) worthwhile sacrifices in the name of reducing cancer reoccurrence. Still, we occasionally make a few of the dishes now and again because they are tasty.
@jsfs
Interesting. I’m surprised to hear you gained weight but after some thought it makes sense if you were eating more. It is about calories after all. The lack of protein is the hard part, that can really mess you up. I don’t think I could ever do vegan, I’d have to include eggs and fish. I hope it worked well for your mom and she beat the cancer!
@jsfs @Lynnerizer yeah it is basically because the protein is replaced by carbs. Most vegans eat a fair amount of potatoes and pasta and rice lots and lots of rice and that can add up but many
@Cerridwyn @jsfs @Lynnerizer My wife had an ex-boyfriend (presumably only before we were married…??) that did exactly that. Lots of carbs. I don’t think he stuck on the diet for too long.
Maybe I should be thankful it maybe made me relatively equally attractive (and handsome and richer?) I can say my useless carbs came from beer and wine mostly.
Many cultures have healthy vegetarian diets, if done correctly. It turns out many cultures had healthy vegetarian meals because it was cheap. (Back before a cauliflower head cost $7). It turns out rice & beans, Italian pasta e fagioli, collards and beans, map to something that helps your body absorb the nutrients efficiently. But the order and cooking method are important.
@Cerridwyn @jsfs @pmarin
Why or how is the order of cooking important? I’ve never heard that before. Unless I’m misunderstanding you… I think you’re saying that it makes a difference in it’s nutritional value depending on the order in which it’s cooked?
@Cerridwyn @jsfs @Lynnerizer @pmarin I’m thinking it’s more in ingestion order. Not exactly “beer before liquor makes you sicker”, but probably start with with vegetables to fill yourself before you chow on carbs.
(Though some nutrients depend on combination; potassium helps absorption of calcium if I remember; and of course some medication is inert if eaten with grapefruit or turnip)
@Cerridwyn @jsfs @pakopako @pmarin
Oh I get it, yes that makes total sense! Thanks for the clarification.
Lentils are great, factory meat production is concerning at best.
@highonpez
Lentils and rice is one of our favorite dishes, we cook it with onions and scoop it up with fresh syrian bread. YUM!
@highonpez @Lynnerizer Yum. I make a mean dal. I am definitely a meatatarian, but I’m not adverse to preparing a vegetarian dish or even, ‘gasp’ a vegan dish. I like food. I can cook. Cook with fresh ingredients and you can make a solid meal
@capnjb @highonpez
I’ll send you my address and you can ship me dinner anytime!
@highonpez @Lynnerizer I’m not familiar with how to ship a meal but I could try to figure something out
@capnjb @highonpez
And so much better for my waistline! Lol 
Yeah I think that could get pretty pricey. I’ve gotten stuff before that’s packaged with dry ice and shipped in a styrofoam cooler. I’m sure it’s affordable when purchased in bulk but that’s about it. If you ever decide to start a business I’m down for it, until then some pictures of your tasty food would be great!
@highonpez @Lynnerizer Send me a whisper with your address and when I figure it out, I’ll get it shipped. Shit… it took me about two years to send @star2236 some freshly roasted coffee but I just got that done
I don’t like the post office, but when I commit, I commit to the bit 
I occasionally get things shipped to me in dry ice so maybe next time, I can figure something out and keep the box moving your way 
@capnjb
I have been looking and looking for your name through the treads to thank you lately and I just haven’t seen it. Thank you very much for the coffee and mini hot sauces and the coffee cup. I absolutely love those coffee cups. I used to have a lot of them and then family wanted some and from moving the rest got broke from shitty movers so I’m grateful to have one again. I haven’t had the coffee yet, I’ve been getting coffee on the road lately bc of timing and how things work out ( and it’s been super hot lately) but it’s definitely on my list. I didn’t want you to think I was one of those people that’s not gracious for the little things and the time that people take out of their day to do nice things. Thank you very much.
@Star2236 I’m happy it arrived in one piece
And sorry it took two years two years to deliver on my promise. 
I guess I could just fib and say I can’t believe it took UPS that long to deliver it 
@capnjb
Yeah, ups is REALLY behind lol
I was pescatarian once for a few years.
@kittykat9180 OMG, I Hope you are better now!
@mycya4me it was pretty easy as I’m not much of a meat eater anyway.
@kittykat9180 @mycya4me
/showme the God of Pesca the grillled fish revealed in a vision.
@mediocrebot Kinda fishy!
@kittykat9180 I am sorry
@kittykat9180 @mycya4me a kittycat that gave up fish for vegetables? Amazing
@kittykat9180 @pakopako But fish is not normally count as a Meat! It is different critter all together!
@mycya4me @pakopako pescatarian’s eat fish, they don’t eat other animal flesh.
@kittykat9180 @mycya4me
My mistake. I thought you went from vegetarian to pescatarian then back to vegetarian.
Yes UNFORTUNATELY. I worked somewhere that provided room and board and that is what the cook would make. I hated a lot of it. Two Australians worked there and when someone went to town (4 hours away) they asked them to bring back some big Macs. They put them in the oven styrofoam container and all (so that tells you how long ago that was). The heat completely melted the containers. They thanked us sitting in the kitchen for removing the hamburgers from the containers. We told them we didn’t. They ate the hamburgers and buns anyway. That was also gross but they were that desperate for meat.
@Kidsandliz Aussie jokes are always good!
Maybe some kangaroo roadkill found by the side of the road? I would love to go there but the 20-hour flight is intimidating. Plus I don’t know if they accept we warlike people.
Would love to take a “drive across the country” but realize it is bigger than the U.S., central roads are often not paved, a few hundred km between “petrol” stations or food. (Except the roadkill which apparently is in abundant supply)
@Kidsandliz @pmarin
Read Bill Bryson book re OZ. The distances between tiny towns or even houses can be astounding.
And everything including the landscape wants to kill you.
But it sounds like the most amazing place.
Wish I had a ton of $ and 1 year to go just explore.
A friend just moved there permanently. So maybe someday …
@pmarin
Not a joke. This really happened. I was one of the people sitting in the kitchen at the time.
Cows eat grass. I eat cows. Does that count?
@capnjb I think so, but the cows may have a different opinion.
@pmarin That’s why they don’t have opposable thumbs
I worked for many years for Seventh Day Adventist institution. The first iteration many many vegetarians of course. By the second time I was there many of those people had become vegan and many of the rest of them started eating Make Believe it or not. But I was not overall a fan. There are dishes that don’t have animal products in them that are quite good. But eat that way all the time no way
@Cerridwyn My daughter has a vegan friend and my kid is a Thanksgiving birthday kid so typically birthday parties got pushed into mid December. It was going to be a Gingerbread house making party. Vegan mom sent vegan kid to the party with a vegan gingerbread house kit. I get it. But I didn’t get it. No one is eating the house
Then I broke out sour cream and onion freeze dried crickets and she was a no. All the other girls ate one after I ate two and looked around the room and gave them a double dog dare. 
You can’t leave my house without a story 
@capnjb for many people it seems like it’s almost a religion and I don’t mean that literally or maybe I do? They almost proselytize like a Jehovah’s Witness.
@Cerridwyn When my dog went to puppy school there were two Indian gentlemen there with a giant black German Shepherd. Amazingly beautiful dog. They were vegan and were raising their dog vegan. I get that dogs are omnivores, but don’t get a dog and treat it like it’s an herbivore. I’ll probably get some comments about that statement. I’ll take the shots.
That beautiful dog learned nothing during those classes because it was largely treat reinforced training. When all the other owners pulled out treats made of beef, lamb or salmon, they were offering seaweed. Dogs can smell so much better than we can and it just looked around like, ‘I WANT THAT’
@capnjb @Cerridwyn here is your organic tofu, lettuce, and tomato sandwich! And a free copy of The Watchtower.
@Cerridwyn @pmarin Who doesn’t love a TLT?
@capnjb @pmarin
/showme a vegan puking tofu
@Cerridwyn I was brought up SDA but my family ate meat. There were some on my mothers side that did the SDA vegetarian thing. When they/we visited I ate their very weird stuff… a ton of super expensive canned “meat” things shaped into hotdogs, burgers, nuggets. I looked on the labels and was shocked at how unhealthy everything was! Tons of sodium and chemicals.
While in uni I discovered the Pritikin diet and used that as a guide to vegan. It lasted more than a year and I fought off colds better than the roomies. I ended it when I moved to Tokyo and discovered it was too expensive to try following that there.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn
That’s funny, the dogs not learning anything! 
Lol
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @pmarin
I’d say tofu is about one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever put in my mouth! I can’t even say ‘eaten’ because I just couldn’t even get it down!
@capnjb @Cerridwyn Regarding the vegan gingerbread house:
Veganism isn’t a diet. Veganism is about living one’s life in a way to try to minimize the suffering of animals.
So a vegan also isn’t going to buy a leather wallet or a goose-down coat or own a pet that isn’t from an animal shelter or something. So a vegan wouldn’t want to build a gingerbread house that included dairy products or non-vegan gelatin.
I’m not a vegan. I don’t share their principals, but I really respect that they have principals and actually live their lives in accordance with that they say they believe.
@Cerridwyn @Limewater That’s fair. But I’m pretty sure the kits we bought were mostly vegan. Or at least included parts that could be left out. Like Hershey kisses.
I wasn’t being judgy. Or at least I wasn’t trying to be. Everyone walks their own path. I respect that. I just want to be able to walk my own path without disdain from others on different paths. I feel like I’m being a dick, but I love people and really want everyone to live their best lives. It just bothers me when I respect their path and they tell me my path is wrong. Sorry… this wasn’t intended to go that sideways.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn I hope I didn’t come across as telling you that you were being a dick. That was not my intent. I was just hoping to clarify why a vegan would care about something they aren’t going to eat being vegan.
But, if you believe in any kind of objective morality, you’re going to end up believing that somebody is doing something wrong.
If you believe that abortion is murdering a baby, you are going to believe that the person who believes it is okay is wrong.
If you believe that enslaving another human being is wrong, you are going to believe that the person who believes it is okay is wrong.
If you believe that sacrificing virgins to appease the gods is wrong, you are going to believe that the people sacrificing virgins are wrong.
I don’t see a way around this.
@capnjb @Limewater I decided I needed to lighten this up a little bit not that I don’t agree with both sides to an existent. Live and let love is not necessarily A philosophy that is embraced these days. But to sacrifice a virgin, especially one of age, I have to find one first
@Limewater We’re good.
And you make solid, valid, thoughtful points. This kind of discussion is good and welcome. But I am going to have steak for dinner 
I really appreciate intelligent discourse. 
@Cerridwyn @Limewater Not it!
@capnjb @Limewater
/youtube desiterata nimoy
For some reason this conversation brought this to my mind.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn this is anecdotal, but my best friend had a late husky that went vegan … Out of necessity. This was a 17 year old mountain dog that would be spending the last 4 years of their life in a city, and they couldn’t handle meat any more. Soy sauce tofu and baked chili beans were fine; farting was more frequent, but that was going to happen with age anyway. As long as they were still eating and without diarrhea, it was a solution to extend the life of a breed that lives to about 15.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @pmarin I have to agree that tofu alone is very disgusting. I usually pick it out of soups. However, Alton Brown’s Tofu chocolate pie is very tasty and you would never know that you are eating tofu. Of course anything with enough chocolate in it is pretty tasty.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @pakopako
Well that’s wonderful for the dog and their family! I say WHATEVER IT TAKES (within reason) to extend the life of whomever and keep the love and life of the family together and going!
@Cerridwyn @ironcheftoni @Lynnerizer @pmarin I love Alton. He did an amazing video message for my wife’s birthday a few years ago
I would like to try a great vegan lifestyle if someone else would do so the work DND make sure it’s super healthy.
Right now too lazy.
For plant-based cuisine you’re better off with Asian food - Indian, Chinese, Japanese - countries where people have been vegetarian for centuries. There’s a wonderful high-end chain in Japan called “Ume no Hana” (Plum Blossom.) They serve a menu of various soy-based dishes, although you can also get meat and fish. Our relatives took us to 2 different locations by coincidence but we were perfectly happy with that!
https://cookingwithyoshiko.com/vegan-kaiseki-at-ume-no-hana-takarazuka-japan/
I’m flexaterian, no red meat or pork or fish bc it’s texture thing. I do enjoy impossible burgers quite frequently but don’t go all out and get all the other crap they offer. I have bought and eaten some stuff before but like someone else said it’s loaded with sodium and shit and I’m a label reader. I try to keep the sodium, carbs, sugar and etc to a minimum.
@Star2236
It’s the mushy factor for me, and the pulp. I’ve always had to have pulp free OJ. My sister’s favorite thing was chicked beef and you eat that over toast. Couldn’t stomach that either.
I’ve never heard of flexaterian but I do understand the whole texture thing. I couldn’t get a banana down due to it’s texture until I was around 45, same thing with oranges. I could handle it frozen and covered in chocolate though. Lol
You know what’s funny, I grew up eating Lebanese food and one of my favorites was raw kibbie which is actually raw lamb ground up several times with bulgar wheat and onions. You scoop it up in a piece of syrian bread and dip it in hot melted butter.
These days it’s not really a smart idea because of everything they feed the animals and the pesticides that are used. You just never know. And, we’d always get our lamb from a Lebanese butcher and he knew how we’d serve it and give us the young ones. I know, sounds bad and I’m sure it turns a lot of people off. 
I’ve made it for friends (always warning them exactly what they were going to eat) and everyone who tried it loved it. 
So while I’m grossed out with many simple foods/fruits here I am eating raw lamb!
@Lynnerizer
I not really an orange juice drinker (have a bladder issue and can’t have anything high in acid) but as a kid I could never do oj with pulp either. My boyfriend buys it that was and it grosses me out. Same with lemonade (if I ever cheat and have some). I found all my dads old recipes and there was some from when mom was still married to him and kibbie was one of them. I always wondered what it was bc she said it was good. Is all kibbie raw?
@Star2236
We just use a little less, it’s worth it. You cook it in a shallow baking dish, a 9" X 13" brownie pan works great. We eat it with plain yogurt and usually have a side of tabouli. That’s the syrian/mediterranean salad made of bulgar wheat, tomatoes and mint with a oil and lemon juice dressing. YUM! 
The two other family favorites are meat pies and grape leaves. Both are served with plain yogurt, my grandmother always made it herself. Our grape leaves are filled with a hamburger meat and rice mixture. I see them made with chickpeas but I don’t really care for those very much. 
No all kibbie isn’t raw. We also make cooked kibbie which is the same recipe except we add pine nuts. I’ve heard of people substituting walnuts for the pine nuts because they’re so expensive at $27 to $30 per pound.
I’m curious what nationality your mom is, did she have lots of mediterranean recipes? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who even heard of kibbie, not unless they were syrian or of similar heritage, or knew someone who was. You should make it, it’s super easy!
@Lynnerizer @Star2236 I wish there was a really good Middle Eastern restaurant near here. We had one briefly - it was Lebanese! A teensy place but I could walk over for lunch from work, and he made the MOST divine baba ganoush, I couldn’t get enough of that. His hummus was great too. I’d get a combo plate with those things and felafel and rice and tabouli. It was so healthy and wonderful!
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 I haven’t been to either one of them but we have two nearby both of which are Lebanese Mexican Fusion restaurants. One is higher end as in white linen napkin type place and the other one is more casual fast food. somewhat fascinating. We also have a Lebanese bakery that delivers to one of my local coffee shops once a week. They make a lot of reimagined Lebanese pastries. He said that some of the ingredients are just too expensive and so they figured out substitutes that put the same heart into it
@Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 TWO Lebanese Mexican fusion restaurants in one town?! How odd - are they connected? I’d love to hear what the food is like if you ever try it.
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 I honestly don’t think so. But I don’t know. The nicer one is been around for quite a while. The more fast foodie one just opened in a food court earlier this year. It might be that the one influence the opening of the other? I have no clue I’ll try to see if I can find a link to one of the menus
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236
Cedaragave.com is the nice one
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 and my apologies the other one is Indian Mexican but has a Lebanese restaurant right next to it so it is what confused me
@Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 That food looks delicious! We used to have a little place doing Indian Mexican fusion but I never tried it. I think it closed during the Covid shutdown.
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 I do a Filipindian fusion with Indian tarka dal and Filipino lumpia. It works really well together. And all the carbs you need for a week
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 Yum. Did you spend time in the Philippines?
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 No. Early in my IT career I had a Filipino manager and his wife made lumpia. We’d all just throw money at him and every other week we’d get a giant tray of hot lumpia.
When I really found a passion for cooking I decided I wanted to make my own lumpia so after a few attempts I finally got it right. The key is finding the right wrapper. They are tissue thin. I’d never call it authentic out of respect, but they are pretty dang tasty 
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 Oh, marvelous. What’s the filling?
@Lynnerizer
My mom and dad had really good friends that were Jewish and that’s who they got the recipe from. I don’t eat red meat or pork so it’s definitely not a thing for me.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Star2236
And I was wondering what the red dipping sauce was that I was seeing. Turns out it’s something else I’ve never heard of, banana ketchup! 
I had no clue what lumpia was, I’ve never even heard of it. I looked it up and WOW, it’s crazy how many different kinds there are, both sweet and savory!
I got my info from Wikipedia, and there’s lots of links that took me to find even more yummy looking stuff. The Lumpiang keso which is really just cheese sticks caught my eye, they’re wrapped in a egg crepes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumpia
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Star2236
The entire menu looks delicious but the lamb chops and baklava cheesecake would have to be my first choice.
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236
It’s pretty basic… pork, onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage… and whatever spices float your boat. The wrapping is the tricky part. It’s like trying to wrap a Chipotle burrito in a Kleenex tissue
A good dipping sauce is also important. 
@Kyeh @Star2236
It was an event and she did it often! The mumol cookies were always my favorite. They’re a light and flaky shortbread cookie that’s stuffed with either a date or nut mixture, pistachios or walnuts. I found a woman from Florida on Etsy that makes them just like hers. I’ve only ordered them twice but it may be time to make it a third time! 
We’ve got two local syrian bakeries, one of them only has frozen cookies shipped in and they’ve always had that freezer burned taste, I won’t even buy them anymore. The other place has delicious homemade sweets but a very small selection.
They have the BEST meat pies, spinach pies, and fresh baked syrian bread. (There’s another place right around the corner from them but their pies give me indigestion) That’s our go to place since it’s too much for me to make that stuff anymore. I was the only one in our family who made the meat pies after Sitto died, she passed me the torch! 
This is the fresh syrian bread I’m always mentioning! YUM!
We have a Lebanese restaurant not too far but of course it’s never as good, or the same as the home cooking I grew up with. My grandmother/Sitto was also a delicious baker. She’d have everything spread out over her entire kitchen and dining room, just like everyone else’s Sitto would do. Lol
About 1.5 hours away, in Massachusetts there’s this AW3SOME and authentic syrian bakery called Sam’s. It’s a tiny brick building with standing room only, at lunchtime the line goes around the block. And if you want to be sure you get your stuff you better call and reserve your order, especially when a holiday is near, or if you’re driving over an hour to get there! Lol
You can read about it here…
https://sams-bakery.res-menu.com
These pictures are making me drool!
@Kyeh @Star2236
@Kyeh @Star2236
The view when you walk in the door, their meat pies are ready to go, I can smell them from here!
@Lynnerizer @Star2236 Oh, lucky you - I love how totally no-nonsense that place looks!.You just know it’s great if they don’t need to make it look like anything more than what it is. Sounds wonderful!
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 For a short while we had a great Chinese dumpling place where they made the potsticker-style dumplings by hand and you could see them doing it so deftly. They sold those and a few salads - cucumber, peanut butter noodle, and a genuinely delicious tofu salad (you have to marinate and flavor tofu a LOT, but then it’s good.) And of course because it was small and simple it got overlooked and went under.
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 That sucks. I do my best to support small businesses that do things right. I’ve been doing IT for over 25 years but before that I ran restaurants for 5 years. It is an unforgiving industry.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 Yeah, not a large profit margin and SO much work.
@Kyeh @Star2236
Exactly! If it was a bar it would definitely be called a ‘dive bar’! The BEST there is!
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Star2236
Maybe it’s a texture thing but I just can’t do it.
Everything sounds delicious except for the tofu, I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan no matter what it’s marinated with and for how long. Lol
@capnjb @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236
I really think Tofu is an acquired taste. that being said, there are people who can do interesting things with it. But nope, nope nope.
Back when I was a staff nurse in the hospital, there was this patient. She was on the medical floor being treated for anorexia with TPN (that’s why medical back then especially). She weighed something like 55 lbs (she also had old school silicone breast implants, so her appearance was somewhat stereotypical). They only thing she would eat was tofu. Nuked in the microwave with pepper. That wasn’t the ewww though.
After she finally put on a bit of weight and stuff and went home, she came back with a gift for the staff. Back then, you ate it. Well it looked like a cheese cake. OH my fuckinsauce it was nothing like one. I can still taste it even though I cannot describe it and it was neigh onto 40 years ago.
I still shiver
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 I didn’t know you were a nurse Cerridwyn. After two long months in the hospital, nurses are my favorite people on the planet. I had a rough run, but my nurses kept me in the game. If I ever seen any one in scrubs, I buy their meal
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Star2236
OMG that sounds disgusting! I can’t even imagine what it tasted like. And it’s funny how she thought THAT would be a nice thank you gift…
I’ve dealt with my own ED and thankfully I never got THAT thin/low in weight, at 100lbs I knew I needed help! It’s a very long and hard recovery process, I hope she’s living healthy these days.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 Yeah, I don’t like tofu disguised as other things. But I grew up with it since my mother’s Japanese; she didn’t cook with it but we’d get in restaurants, like in miso soup (you probably don’t like miso either!
)
I think the extra soft stuff has the nicest texture, like an egg custard. But there is a weird dry taste to it until it’s been seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, all the things with strong flavors.
Cerridwyn - I hope your patient is doing well now too!
@capnjb @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236
heh
I actually like miso salmon.
but it is a weird texture thing for me, not flavor per se
i also cannot stand mushrooms for the same reason. I have the powder for when i need the right kind of umami that fungi bring
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 The only time I use tofu is in my miso. I use mushrooms in all sorts of dishes but for the umami, I use this all the time. Amazon just told me I’ve purchased this 13 times
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYL4HK2
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 I love miso salmon! So for texture - is it the hard tofu you’re talking about? I get that, it’s kind of like a kitchen sponge. But the super soft kind is like firm yoghurt or something. But I get it - my big ick is slimy viscous stuff - keep that okra away from me!
@capnjb @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @Star2236 okra is beyond ewwwww.
Since I don’t eat it really I can’t tell you. Have I probably eaten stuff with it in it, yes because I worked in an SDA Hospital system for too many years. But you know if something’s got enough of some kind of goofy sauce on it you can eat almost anything, but not okra.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Lynnerizer @Star2236 Or if it’s deep-fried, I’ve eaten it that way. I’d still prefer something else deep-fried, though.
@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Kyeh @Star2236
Ha! When I read “my big ick is slimy viscous stuff” okra came to my mind immediately! We grew up eating okra so I’ve been trained! Lol
And, it’s also about the only slimy thing I can tolerate! Oysters aren’t a favorite for just THAT reason, but I LOVE whole belly clams. They both have texture issues but still very different.
Not all vegetable diets are great. Beer and fries will kill you faster than a bloody steak.
Personally I’ll eat whatever is cheap, and vegetables (even if it’s $7 for a head of cauliflower) are still cheaper and easier to preserve. They can also be “sausage-d” for easy consumption (broccoli smoothie). I still like meat, but that’s become a semi-regular food compared to rice, pasta, beans, mushrooms (mmm), carrots, potatoes, onions, eggplant, etc. I’m most upset that pies are now a “sometimes treat” (too much delicious lard). Though honestly I probably use way to much oil in my chili (from cheese).
I keep thinking of vegetarian as an insult, because as a kid I religiously played this sci-fi game with a plant alien species:
https://www.sa-matra.net/quotes/sc2/supox/
“Now I’m hungry, but I’m sick and tired of sunlight, sunlight, sunlight! I want some REAL food!!! Like a hamburger or a steak… better yet, how about a dog!”
“Arrgh, you hideous monsters, vegetarians, defilers of the leaf!”
(I will plug that this game is still playable today, and for free, on phones and PC as “Ur-Quan Masters”. It’s really a joy to read and the dialogue choices, even if you just go to the website listed above.)
@pakopako I love to cook but I never start out saying, I need to make a vegetarian dish. Or a vegan dish. But they happen frequently. There are times I might do that if I’m hosting something and I have a guest with a certain diet. We are getting into summer and I love fresh veg. Most of the meals I make in the summer are either vegetarian or vegan. My tomatoes are starting to turn red and I could live off gazpacho all summer long. That is likely vegan, but I haven’t run through all the ingredients in V8
Pasta and roasted summer squash are a wonderful combination but yeah, I’ll probably be adding some butter and some fresh parm. 
Eat all the vegetables!
@sillyheathen I see you trying to camouflage a bottle of wine
@capnjb I mean, it’s plant based……
@sillyheathen Touche
@capnjb Stanley!
@sillyheathen How do you cook your chard? (It’s beautiful, BTW.)
@Kyeh @sillyheathen Through it on the grill so it is charred.
@sillyheathen @yakkoTDI
Hahaha good one