inane thought for the day

Is everyone in heaven vegetarian?

Think about it (but not too hard).  So heaven is the place that you go after you die, and you live there forever (just go with me on this, yeah?).  Nothing in heaven can die, because then it wouldn't be heaven.  That's where you can do whatever gives you joy, and for some people (foodies, meat-lovers) that might include eating meals worthy of kings for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and second breakfast and elevensies, et al, if you have the appetite of a hobbit).  But since nothing can die, nobody is really eating meat, because meat comes from animals in various states of death (or sometimes, like in one episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, they are just recently dead; he ate a beating frog's heart in Japan).  So the people who think they are eating meat must actually be eating...some meat substitute?

Two Truths and a Lie: Sea Creatures edition

1. I've touched a (live) hammerhead shark.
2. I've gone snorkeling with turtles.
3. I've eaten octopus (before I became vegetarian).

?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?
answer (highlight below to view)

Number two is the lie.

Not another food post!

On this day last year I had one of the most memorable food experiences of my life.  But that day I was sleep deprived, dehydrated and jet-lagged.  I need to explain-->

Last year I went to Nicaragua for the third time for another week-long short-term mission with members of my church.  No, I didn't do traditional/(stereo)typical mission work like the kind that's been satirized by the multiple Tony Award-winning musical Book of Mormon.  No, most Nicaraguans are Christians-- Catholic, in fact-- and our aim was not to convert.  But I digress.

The flight I had to take left at 5-something a.m, so I had to meet the others at the airport by 3 a.m, so I had to leave my house by 2:30 a.m., so I basically got very little sleep.  Luckily there I slept a little on the plane but not until I got my complimentary beverage (Mr. T's Bloody Mary mix, I think).  Landed in Miami International Airport for a second hobbit breakfast before catching the connecting flight to Nicaragua (we ate some egg salad sandwiches and clementines while waiting to board the first flight).  Slept a little on that second flight but again I was determined to stay awake to get my second beverage (Dr. Pepper) and unfortunately the combination of caffeine, nervousness, and sunlight streaming in from the window made it hard to get some shut-eye.

Finally we arrived in Managua, the country's capital, at noon their time (making up for our Daylight Savings Time). Lord, I was hungry.  And confused.  Going through immigrations and customs was a pretty simple, straightforward process, except I was tired and hungry and my brain was not functioning at it's Typical Performance Level.  Somehow I got separated from the group for a few minutes, and in that time I started to panic slightly.  But it worked out in the end, and before I was fully aware what was happening we were in our missionary-coordinated pastor's van and headed to what is probably the only Korean restaurant in Nicaragua.

And the food! Best Korean food I've ever had!  I ordered kimchi jjihgae, which is this stew that has kimichi n it-- spicy, fermented, pickled cabbage, aka Korea's national dish (and rumored reason why the SARS epidemic never touched that peninsula).  It looked like the only vegetarian thing on the menu,  and I knew I'd like it, so I that's why I ordered it.  Oh, but the menu...so confusing...it was in Korean and Spanish.  Mind you, I am only fluent in English and prefer to use it to speak.  Ah, but my poor little brain was still recovering from all the events of the previous 12 hours, and while I could read and understand the menu I was starving to read and hear some English.  I know, I sound like a crass, typical Stupid Ugly American who Wants E'r'one Ta Speak English, Ya Hear?! Eh, but consider the fact that I had been drifting in and out of sleep and had little to eat at that point.  It wasn't that I was upset about the fact that the menu had not been in English, but that I was too exhausted and wanted everything to be a simple as possible until I had recovered.  Man, but the food was just what I needed.  It was warm and filling and woke me up (and made my nose run like the river Nile).  Oh and also...it had meat in it.  Darn!  I suspect that the soup was cooked with that beef, and so I was partially drinking beef broth, and had inadvertently veered off from even my own rather liberal take on vegetarianism...but it tasted good.  And I needed food.  And that was the best choice I could've gone with.  And I know I will never have a more satisfying food experience that was so appropriate, so just-what-I-needed-at-the-moment meal, never again in my life.  So I choose to savor it, despite all these factors that indicate that it probably was special only due to the extraordinary circumstances.

Oh, also: best iced coffee I've ever had.  I usually like mine with lots of cream and just enough sugar for it to be just a little more sweet than bitter.  But this coffee was cooler than cool (ice cold!) and very sweet but not so sweet as to create that feeling that I simultaneously killed my pancreas and gave myself a few cavities.  When I (finally) read Watchmen this year and read the description of how the Silk Spectre/Laura or Laurie something likes her coffee (something like, "Black as the night and twice as sweet!"), I thought about this magic coffee from this Korean restaurant in Managua, Nicaragua.

I Heart Carbs



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 http://www.nataliedee.com/
Twice or thrice I've given up bread for Lent (going with the whole "man does not live on bread alone" thing).  I allowed myself crackers, pita wraps and lavash rolls; I disallowed anything else leavened, in the Jewish Passover sense.  On top of this I am vegetarian, and what got me the most was having to give up pizza and sandwiches.  But I survived.

Today I visited my local megamarket and I feel like I melted as I approached the bakery section and got a whiff of some of the paper bagged-breads.  Oh, carbohydratey goodness!  Why did I ever forsake thee?  The smell of baked goods is more tantalizing to me than any other food; it's a scent of home, of safety, of warmth and love.  If I had to choose between cooking and baking I'd choose the latter, not because I'm better at baking but that it evokes in me a greater sense of heartiness and, well, magic.  When cooking on a stove the food changes right before my eyes, but when it comes to baking I put in a pale and tentative-looking object into the oven and it emerges as a golden-brown and delicious product.  There are few things as satisfying as the pow of hot, scented air that hits my face when I pry open the oven door for a peek at how the food's progressing.

Baking is slightly less satisfying during the summer, when so many different attempts are made at keeping the house cool.  I've heard good things about grilled pizza and hope to try that out soon-- maybe this weekend.  But I'm definitely going to continue baking throughout the year; maybe I'll get daring enough to make my own baked good recipe.

Another commercial

I know I just did one of these a few days ago but I just found that this was posted, and so I must comment without delay:

This one is half as long as the other commercials, but it is equally effective, affecting and funny.

1) I'm glad that Mr. Krasinski made sure that it was safe for animals.  I'm not vegetarian out of sympathy for animals but that doesn't mean I can't be indignant and offended when they're decorated inhumanly.
2) I still agree: it was totally worth it.
3) I love the squelchy sound of Mr. Baldwin's shoes on that floor.  I could listen to that for...well, not hours, but for a while.
4) Sadly, I cannot readily identify Mr. Krasinski's ringtone in this commericial.

T-bone craving!

No, I don't have the urge to suddenly give up being vegetarian and go on a meat binge.  The "t-bone" in the title refers to the brass instrument: the trombone.  I've been fascinated with it for some time because:
1) I have yet to learn how to play a brass instrument
2) It's the only brass instrument that has a long slide rather than valves
3) I'm amused by how dangerous its movement is, since the slide extends so far out.

A while back I was watching Jeopardy! and one of the contestants was revealed to having a large collection of instruments, none of which she could play.  This kind of motivated me to not only collect a trombone and learn to play it; this has yet to happen.  And earlier this year I watched the film The Brothers Bloom in which one character collects hobbies, among which include various instruments.  I don't mean to ever stop developing my skills on the violin, but I hope to buy and learn to play the trombone-- just for my own amusement, and so I can say that I know how to play it.  This aspiration doesn't rank terribly high on the list of Things I'd Like To Accomplish but it's one that seems the most doable at this point in my life...aside from the fact that I don't have the funds to buy a trombone or the time to practise.

Character sketch: Mrs. V

As with all the people described in my character sketches, Mrs. V is a pseudonym; however in this case I don't actually remember her real name.  She was the teacher's assistant when I was in fifth grade and although we only ever called her by surname I can only recall her first name.  Weird, huh.

She was the first vegetarian I ever met-- and the first vegan.  At that time it never crossed my mind to become vegetarian and I was fascinated by everything she ate.  For lunch she would often have a cheese sandwich made with soy cheese.  When I asked her about how it tasted she broke off a bit and asked me to decide for myself.  Again, I have no memory of how it tasted, but I don't think it was as bad as it sounds.  But it helped that I took an instant liking to her.

She had green eyes, tawny skin and very long chestnut brown hair that was streaked with natural blonde highlights.  She always wore it in one thick braid, sometimes letting it fall down her back or wrapping it around (and around) her head.  Oh, and she was the first person I ever met who had a twin.  Mrs. V wore those long, blandly floral dresses and she practically glided across the room to our tables whenever we needed help.  Never did she treat us like the snotty little ten-year-olds that we were, but talked to us...well, not like we were adults, but as if what we had to say was worthy of her undivided attention.

Good Friday/Earth Day 2011

On this day, a few years ago, I celebrated Earth Day by hosting a sort of "vegetarian awareness" event at school.  I don't subscribe to the whole "meat is murder" attitude or make an effort to "convert" others to vegetarianism, but after I gave up meat I came across a lot of information on its impact on the environment.  It's ironic that this year Earth Day also falls on a Friday-- and on Good Friday, at that-- when many people (Catholics) don't eat meat for religious reasons.  Today isn't very out of the ordinary for me in that I don't eat meat anyway, and I try to "earth-friendly" on a daily basis by doing little things like taking cold showers and turning the water off while I lather up, unplugging electronic devices when not in use, etc.  Still, I don't want or mean to discount the importance of the events that happen today.  I didn't give anything up for Lent this year but

Happy Earth Day, everyone! And a good Good Friday, too!

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I don't like pine nuts

I'm not fond of the way they taste, but what really gets to me is that they look like teeth.  Like baby teeth, or rodent teeth.  I'm not particularly phobic when it comes to dentistry or teeth-- I've never liked going to see the dentist but I developed an appreciation for their work when I went to Nicaragua-- yet to me there's something inherently disturbing about thinking about eating teeth, of crunching teeth between your teeth.

Re-Lent?

The Korean sausage that my mother served for lunch on Sunday isn't really a sausage, strictly speaking.  Its casing was not made of animal intestine and contained no meat but was stuffed with noodles and vegetables.  So, technically, as a vegetarian it would be okay for me to eat it, right? Well there's one thing ingredient I left out: 

I love...Boloco

There, I said it. I like Anna's Taqueria, haven't gone to Boca Grande or Qdoba, and refuse to enter Chipotle; Boloco is the place I go to get my burrito fix. If another burrito place is closer then fine, I'll go there, but I'll always come back to the place I love.

Three hours ago I finished one of their burritos and since then have been in an inordinately good mood. This one was the Yucatan Habañero burrito, which consisted of organic oven-baked tofu, habañero salsa, pickled red onions, sour cream, black beans and rice, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. De-licious. The salsa was hot but manageable and tasty, didn't burn my lips; the onions were wonderfully crunchy and sour-- I've never had a burrito quite like this one.

To be fair, it isn't really a burrito, strictly speaking. Boloco does offer the traditional burrito with beans and rice and salsa and cheese, but has lots of other offerings that qualify more as "wraps". I haven't tried all eight burrito variations but I plan to someday. I love that there are all these options, as well as the option to make your own burrito, but what tops this chain above others is that they offer tofu AND fajita vegetables as vegetarian subsitutes for chicken or beef or carnitas. Most other places only offer some vegetable variant, which is nice, but I love tofu and the protein and texture it brings to the overall burrito. At most places there are limited vegetarian options, which I've come to accept since I'm not otherwise a picky eater; it's just the cherry on top to have TWO different filling choices.

Beyond the menu, I can really get behind the company's efforts to go green, which started even before it became a trend. For as long as I've been going there they've offered all organic meat and tofu and have a user-friendly system of sorting trash and recyclables at their locations. Their cold drink cups are compostable, made from corn. Really I can't find much objectionable about Boloco. They're always fast and efficient and I've never had a leaky burrito. If I could only go out to eat at one restaurant for the rest of my life I'd chose Boloco.

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Why I Became Vegetarian

It was the start of the lunar new year in 2004. I was at my grandmother's house along with my entire extended family on my father's side. We had a big get-together to celebrate the lunar new year, which featured a glut of traditional Korean food. I stuffed myself silly, felt a bit disgusted at how much meat I had eaten and vowed never to eat meat again. And I never did. The End!

...Well, not quite. That's the one of the stories I tell when people ask me when and why I became vegetarian. The next day I had myself a bowl of Campbell's chicken noodle soup but didn't eat the scrawny cubes of chicken. After that I decided I should do this vegetarian thing properly, set some rules for myself. I wouldn't eat beef, pork, poultry or seafood. I would still go on eating cheese and dairy products, as well as marshamallows and anything that had gelatin in it-- basically if it tasted like meat I wouldn't eat it. Lent was around the corner: I would be vegetarian until the end of Lent and take it from there. Maybe I'd eat some turkey at Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday at the time, but I'd cross that bridge when I got there. Sometimes I simply tell people I gave meat up for Lent and never turned back to it after that, which is also true.

Somewhere in my conscience I must've been losing my taste for meat even before then. Mind you, it had never crossed my mind that I would become vegetarian. There was one peer of mine who had been vegetarian her whole life and I distinctly remember offering her a piece of my chicken patty at lunch when she remarked that she was still hungry. Still, it wasn't hard to transition my diet, because I didn't eat too much meat in the first place and I had always viewed tofu as a friendly, familiar food. I never really viewed meat as murder, but now that I've read about how animals are treated... that's a topic for another post. Let's just say I don't regret becoming vegetarian.

That first year I was the healthiest I've ever been. I ate salads every day, read countless vegetarian cookbooks and fastidiously made sure that I still got enough iron, protein and calcium in my diet. To this day I think back on what I've eaten and what I need to eat for the next meal to fulfill my dietary needs but I'm not as enthusiastic about salads--especially salad for lunch. I've read stories of how people got better skin, lost a lot of weight and felt more energetic, more alive; I'm not one of those people. Maybe it's because I'm not terribly observant in the first place but I haven't felt any major changes in my body since I became vegetarian seven years ago. I don't regret my decision to give up meat, and it can be tricky sometimes when I go out to eat but it's only been a major problem for the years I gave up bread for Lent.

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