Some Disassembly Required

Over the past week or so, I attended two parties.  For me, that is about as crazy as my social life gets.  Strangely enough, both hosts served lasagna for dinner.  In the past, I would be thrilled.  The cooks involved both make fantastic lasagna - everything from scratch, nothing jarred or processed.  Now, not so much.  You see, it was not just any lasagna, it was meat lasagna.

There were no other choices for meals at either party, so I a choice to make.  I could snack on salad and bread and skip the meal, leaving me hungry and cranky.  I could eat the lasagna, leaving me feeling guilty and uncomfortable.  I could ask for something else to eat, which I never really considered because that would be just plain rude.

My choice?  I ate the lasagna, sort of.  Yes, I quietly and subtly, took the layers apart and removed as much of the meat as possible.  People were talking and eating so no one seemed to notice my little pasta surgery.  I did not waste those meatballs; I gave my extra to Matt and Sarah who were more than happy to scoop up my rejects.  I am sure I looked ridiculous.  I am sure my plate looked like some kind of Italian tragedy.  I don't know if I made the best choice but I made the best decision I could at the time, both times, and I am comfortable with that.

Any ideas of another option?

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Back to school time, which means back to packing lunch.  What is it about putting the lunch into the lunch box that makes it so much harder?  Sarah does not have a hard time picking what she wants when she eats at home.  But somehow having to put the food into containers complicates matters.

She is not a fan if the hot lunch options at her school (I can't blame her).  She also is not a fan of sandwiches.  According to Sarah, sandwiches require too much chewing.  Chewing is a problem when you can't stop talking, but that is another story.  Okay, no sandwiches.  The good news is that she is a big fan of leftovers in a thermos - soups, stews, pasta.  I like cooking those things so it worked out pretty well last year.  It is much easier to just reheat last night's dinner than remember to buy sandwich things every week, so in the end it is better for both of us.  So far this school year, I have sent in a few of days of pasta, a few of soups and only one sandwich.

Sarah tells me her friends are jealous of her lunches.  Why does that make me feel good?

Sarah is getting older and before long I will not be packing lunches for her anymore.  I will have no control over what she eats when she is away from home.  I hope I have helped her develop some good habits about what she chooses to eat at lunch.  I think I have, as long as it does not involve a lot of chewing.

How Much for the Soup? Three Clams

 

What makes the perfect clam chowder?  It seems my family cannot agree.  On our trip to Maine, we had three cups of chowder, and we each walked away with a different favorite.

First problem - clam to potato ratio. Sarah likes a lot of potatoes, Matt prefers much more clam, and I am somewhere in the middle.  Then we disagree on the broth.  Should it be milk based (thin) or cream based (thick)?  One version included shrimp and haddock.  I said that made it fish chowder and disqualified it as clam chowder;  Matt just called it delicious.  And don't even get me started on saltiness.

This got me thinking - if we all live together and eat much of the same things and yet have such different tastes, how can any of us know what "good" food is?  Not good as in healthy or good as in not spoiled, but good, tasty, soul-satisfying food.

You know when a friend tells you something is the best thing she has ever eaten and you taste it and think "Meh?"  Or you remember something tasting perfect, and you get it again only to be disappointed?

It seems food is such a living thing that we can never dip our spoons into the same bowl twice.  Or anyone else's bowls, which may be gross but we are family so we share all the time.

On a Roll

I did not have a lobster roll until I was an adult, but I have since made up for lost time.  I often wonder who looked at a lobster with its hard shell and sharp claws and thought, "That would make a good dinner!"  Then I think about the person who said, "You know what this lobster really needs?  Mayonnaise!"  Well, whoever those intrepid culinary adventurers were, I am forever in their debt.

On our recent trip to Kennebunkport, Maine, my goal was to eat a lobster roll every day.  I am not one to shy away from such a challenge, so below is my round-up of my attempt at lobster roll saturation.


Family Restaurant - Alisson's Restaurant

This had the most traditional bun - split top hot dog bun brushed with butter and grilled to toasty crispness.  We had spent that day driving through a monsoon so the meal was particularly satisfying.


Seafood Shack - The Clam Shack

This one had the most authentic lobster roll experience.  You walk up to a window, order your food, someone with a crazy accent calls your number and who go eat at a picnic table near the water.  The lobster was the most tender and flavorful, but the roll ruined it.  It was like one of the Hawaiian rolls, sweet and squishy.  And this is Atlantic lobster; that cannot be mixed with Pacific bread.

Food Truck - The Ocean Roll

The Ocean Roll serves these beauties two ways - cold with mayonnaise or hot with butter.  I don't have a picture of the butter roll because some people could not wait until I came back with the ketchup for the french fries so I could get a shot.  Next time, family, you get your own ketchup!  I liked the hot version a lot.  It was like eating a fresh lobster without all the work.


Hotel Restaurant - Striper's

Technically not a lobster roll, but a lobster taco.  I ate it, so I am counting it.  That fancy flower thing on the top is pickled red onion.  Did you even know you could pickle red onion?  I didn't and now I feel like I have been missing out all these year.  Excellent lobster-to-bread ratio, and the all the add-ons just made the meat taste better.

Only four this trip.  I will have to return to do much more research.

Stop in the Name of the Vegetable Police

Earlier this month, the family took a trip to Maine.  I was really looking forward to eating some fresh lobster.

"My goal for this trip is to have a lobster roll every day," I told Sarah.
"That doesn't sound very vegetarian, Mom," Sarah answered.
"True," I said, "but I don't think the vegetarian police are going to come after me."
"Maybe they will," Sarah laughed.

I realized the source of my discomfort with the whole vegetarian thing.  It is not asking other people to make adjustments for me or missing certain foods, it is the label!  Who gets to decide what "vegetarian" means?  Who gets to tell me what I can and cannot eat?  And why do I need rules?

I care deeply about the environment and that is my motivation for giving up meat.  Meat production requires an incredible amount of resources and I want to take even the tiniest steps that I can.  I want to make sustainable choices when it comes to food.  I need to do more research so I can make better decisions, but in the meantime I have to get rid of the guilt!

Lobster, thankfully, is very sustainable, and very delicious.

Editor's Note:  I have been a bad blogger this summer.  No excuses, just an apology.  Rededicated to write more frequently!

Happy Meal

Last weekend, I joined my mother on one of those senior outings - a whole bunch of the AARP crowd get on a coach bus to somewhere.  This was a day trip to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.  We rode the bus, went to lunch, visited the museum and rode home on the bus.  It was a great day.

This was my first experience with a fixed lunch since I stopped eating meat.  I called the planning office ahead of time to ask about a vegetarian option.  "No problem," she told me, "just tell the server when you get there."  I don't know why I was nervous about it.  I did not want to make a fuss and I hate drawing attention to myself.  I just had to trust that it would be no problem.

And you know what?  It was no problem.  When the waitress came around for the drink orders, I asked her about it.  "Oh yes, we have eggplant for you."  It was an Italian restaurant.  While everyone else had their chicken and pasta, my spaghetti was served with some delicious eggplant.  My mother tasted the eggplant and said it was much better than her lunch.  "Maybe I should go vegetarian with you," my mother said, "you get better food."

Veg on Vacation

Colonial cheesecake?  Yes, please!

For spring break, the family took a trip to Williamsburg, VA - along with half the population of the eastern seaboard.  Everything was crowded!  I thought finding vegetarian food would be the challenge on this trip; just finding a place to eat was the challenge.  Every place we went there were lines and crowds and wait times measured in hours.  Once we found a restaurant, I managed to find good, meatless food but boy did I have to wait for it.

All except one meal.  We spent a day at Busch Gardens.  The amusement park is divided into themed sections based on different countries - Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Ireland.  These themes extend to the food.  You would think that this would allow a good amount variety in the restaurants and it does, but not when it comes to vegetarian options.  The restaurants were crowded, loud, chaotic and thoroughly unappetizing.  We were miserable.  We finally found a stand with a few quiet tables open and a short line.  I did not care what food they served, as long as I could sit and eat something without someone screaming in my ear.  What did they serve?  Hot dogs in pretzel rolls.  Hot dogs?  In pretzel rolls?  Oh, and there is spicy mustard for dipping?  Sure I can blame the heat, or the crowds, or anything else I want to blame.  Those hot dogs in pretzel rolls were so good.

Even with that small, delicious failure, I am pretty happy about my first (almost) vegetarian vacation.  Now, if I could just stay away from hot dogs.

This Little Piggy Went to a Party

Last Friday evening, Matt and I attended a fundraising auction for my daughter's school.  The theme was a country hoe-down.  The theme was really raise as much money as possible, but the decorations and food need better direction than that.  On top of the checked table cloths was quite a spread.  Hummus, couscous, and fig & goat cheese sandwiches - because you know all the best cowboys come from the Middle East.  Wine tasting, whiskey tasting, beer tasting - it is thirsty work spending money!  It was really was a lovely evening.

I was doing so well until the passed hors doeuvre's came around.  I skipped the turkey meatballs, said no to the chicken on a stick, even refused the tiny steak sandwiches.  Then, then the man said those magic words, "Mini hot dog?" and held out a tray filled with small dough-wrapped bits of wonder.  Pigs in a blanket!  What kind of evil person says no to pigs in a blanket?  They are pigs, wrapped in a tiny blanket, just for your dining pleasure!  He even offered spicy brown mustard in which to dip these precious bites.

I will not say how many I ate, and whatever my husband says is not true (too low, I ate more when he wasn't looking.)  It seems hot dogs are the meat I cannot live without.  I'm not sure it is even meat.  If you don't know what is in the meat dish, does it count as eating meat?

I'm Okay, You're Okay

As I mentioned yesterday, Sarah and I went out to lunch a couple of times this week.  When we were choosing where to eat, Sarah said she really wanted a hamburger.  "Is that okay?" she asked tentatively.  I enthusiastically told her it was fine, if she wanted a hamburger she should have one.  "Will it make you feel bad?"  she asked.  Feel bad?  "Because if I was trying not to eat meat, I would feel bad if someone ate a giant hamburger in front me."

I appreciated her sensitivity and praised her for her thoughtfulness, but I did feel bad.  Not because I wanted the hamburger (which she ordered and thoroughly enjoyed) but because I made my daughter feel guilty about food.  My relationship with food is not good or healthy and that is the last thing I want to pass on to my daughter.  Cutting meat from my diet is an effort to improve that relationship, not make it more difficult and certainly not make it more difficult for Sarah.  Food should be fun and life-sustaining, not painful and guilt-ridden.  Am I making things worse or better?

Two for Lunch

After several days of being trapped in the house by weather and my bum hand, Sarah and I needed a change of scenery.  Like any good mom-tween duo, we headed to the mall.  For Sarah, a shopping day is not complete without eating out.  Finding tasty, healthy food at the mall has always been a challenge. How would it go now?

We ate our first meal at P.F. Chang's.  What a delight!  The menu marked each of the vegetarian items with a prominent green symbol (I like to imagine it is the Chinese character for vegetable).  Lots of choices, though I was disappointed that there was not a vegetarian soup option.  I ordered spring rolls, vegetable dumplings and something call Buddha's Feast, which involved mixed vegetables and tofu.  I did not have to grill the waiter on ingredients, or have something special made, or do anything but just order and enjoy my meal.

On our next trip, we chose to have lunch at Ruby Tuesday.  Sarah was craving a hamburger (more on that tomorrow) and I thought there had to something on the menu I could work with.  I read the menu, then read it again, checked the specials, and then read the menu for a third time.  Nothing.  Not a single meal on the menu could be considered vegetarian.  I asked the waitress if I was missing anything.  She offered the salad bar or a veggie plate.  Now I love a good salad bar, and this one was fine, but it certainly was not a meal.  The Veggie Trio Combo is a combination of three side dishes - so my meal would consist of steam broccoli and french fries.  Bleh!  I invoked my "occasional fish" rule and ordered a crab cake and salad.  The crab cake was greasy.

Lesson learned - plan ahead.

Caught Between a Wrap and a Pizza Place

My daughter went to a birthday party on Saturday.  It involved some driving for most of the kids going, so the parents of the birthday girl were kind enough to set up an area for the parents.  The food table offered some sandwiches and fruit.  The sandwiches looked lovely and it was lunch time, but not a vegetarian choice to be had.  A little later, they brought out pizza for the kids.  So my choices were: eat nothing, eat a healthy meat-based wrap, or eat unhealthy but vegetarian pizza.  What kind of choice is that?  Sure I could have taken apart a couple of sandwiches and made a new one with the vegetables and cheese, but who does that?  I don't want to be one of those people who makes a scence when they is "nothing they can eat."  I would not insult my hosts that way when they were kind enough to offer anything.  I could just not eat, but it was a long time and I was hungry.

So I ate half a wrap and half a slice of pizza.  The worst of both worlds.

I am suppose to be eating healthier and making better choices with food.  I feel like that is not happening, not yet.  Sure chips & salsa are vegetarian, but some lean turkey has to be the better choice. More things to think about.