Have Grill, Can't Cook

We are finally seeing what could be described as nice weather here in New England so on Saturday, Matt decided to get the grill ready for the season.  He had new cleaner, special brushes, and an entire roll of heavy-duty paper towels ready for action.  He scrubbed, he hosed, he brushed.  He was out there for hours but when he was finished, the grill looked great.  All shiny and clean and ready for all my grilling experiments.

At least we thought so.

This a gas grill.  After he put everything back together, he tried to light it.  Nothing.  He waited until everything was dried out - still nothing.  He tried it the next day, and got worse than nothing.  He smelled gas leaking.

We have a beautiful, clean grill and nothing to do with it.  At least I won't be embarrassed in front of the repairman.

The Story of An Egg and A Potato

This past weekend, we attended my niece's First Communion.  Everything went well - the weather was beautiful, the kids all looked adorable and the food at the party was great.  Vegetarian choices for every course and since the food was served family-style, no one noticed or commented on what I was or was not eating.  I did not have to ask for anything special and could just pass the platters along.  Best of all, lots of homemade cookies.  I love cookies.

The actual First Communion mass left something to be desired.  Now I have heard a lot of bad sermons, but this one was in a category by itself.  First, the priest started with a story about 1500 sheep going over a cliff.  I think it had something to do with Jesus being the good shepherd, but that was never made clear.  The priest really focused on the dead sheep for a long time.  Then he moved on to a story about a couple whose child had died (great topic for First Communion mass!) and how he had counseled them through their grief.  It was all about an egg and a potato.

You see, an egg starts out fragile and delicate.  When faced with boiling water, it gets hard and cracks under the heat.  It eventually becomes grey and flavorless.  A potato, on the other hand, starts out hard as a rock, but when thrown into the fire it gets soft and pliable and delicious.  We are suppose to be potatoes, not eggs.

He went on like this forever, and even circled back to this clever metaphor at the close of mass.  Did the kids understand it?  Of course not!  The metaphor falls apart when you really look at it.  So are we suppose to be hard all our lives?  Is there something wrong with being more sensitive?  Potatoes eventually fall apart if you heat them enough - are we suppose to be mashed potatoes?  And hey, I happen to like hard boiled eggs.  Food metaphor fail.

When the priest finished, I leaned over to Matt and said, "All I got from that was hungry."  Matt nodded and answered, "I hope they aren't serving eggs or potatoes at lunch."

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?

Colored Eggs and Ham

Last weekend, I hosted Easter dinner for some of my extended family, 10 diners in all.  Among my guests, diet restrictions galore: gluten free, lactose intolerant, low-salt, Passover observance.  Add in some seriously picky eaters and others who demand certain foods for certain holidays (Easter = ham or lamb), my vegetarian needs were pretty low on my list of criteria for choosing a menu.

I made a ham, but I did not eat any of it.  For my first major holiday since I gave up meat, I was happy with this compromise.  I also served a chick pea rice pilaf which I ate as my main dish, but other people tried it and seemed to enjoy it.  I started with a leek and potato soup and an antipasto platter (a must at all Brown family events).  I served carrots, string beans, asparagus and baked potatoes.  My mother brought candy for the kids and some Peeps ended up in the microwave.  No one went home hungry and no one complained.  Trust me, this group would have let me know if there was a problem.

Most importantly, no one asked me about the vegetarian thing.  My eating was not a topic of conversation.  I was grateful.  My family can be pretty hard on anyone trying something different, so it was a big step.  I will see if that remains true when I go over to someone else's house for a holiday.

Same Time Next Year

Over the weekend, I was listening to an interview with author Delia Ephron.  She made an off-hand comment about how "no one makes tune-noodle casserole anymore."  At that very moment, I was cooking tuna-noodle casserole.  Sure, it is a dish out of the 1970s, and I have modified the recipe to make it tastier and healthier, but I love the stuff even if no one else eats it anymore.

Which got me thinking about food fashion.  I am not talking about weight-loss diets or restaurant fads, but the food we eat at home on a regular basis.  Some things will change based on changing notions of health - remember when eating liver was considered very healthy?  But even if you factor in that element, what we eat changes over time.  Why is that?

I am sure some of it has to do with the availability of ingredients, and the influence of immigrant groups, and changing lifestyles.  But beyond that, do people change what they want to eat?  I have made a decision to not eat meat, so of course my diet will be significantly different than it was even a year ago.  Will my vegetarian diet change in ten years?  Do taste buds change over time?  Will I like the same foods next year?

Will eating differently cause me to want to eat differently?

Is my tongue changing?

Now I made myself nervous.  I have to go spend some time staring in the mirror to make sure my tongue has not changed.  I'll let you know.

One Potato, Two Potato

Over the weekend, I made baked potatoes as a side dish for dinner.  I cannot remember the last time I made a baked potato, ate a baked potato or even thought about a baked potato.  My parents were coming over for dinner and I did not have a lot of active prep time, though throwing things in the oven to cook without me worked well, thus baked potatoes.

The baked potato made me so happy!  I don't put anything fancy on top of it, not even butter or sour cream, just a little salt.  Something so simple tasted so good.  I have been trying to cook such complex meals lately I have forgotten the joys of simple food.  I need to remind myself that I don't need to cook exotic flavors or fifty ingredients into a dish to make it work.  I do not need to compensate for the lack of meat.  Meatless food is delicious and healthy just as it is.  Meals can be satisfying in their simplicity.

Up next: peanut butter and jelly sandwich.