This isn't a precise recipe, but it's what I made tonight with the help of the recent suggestions about simple Chinese cooking in Tigers and Strawberries. I didn't do it really properly, but it turned out well.

Scallions (5, white and light green parts only)
Ginger (about 2-in pc)
Green garlic (two stalks, sub regular garlic if no green available)
1/2 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 carrot
soy sauce
sherry
oil
sesame oil
sesame seeds

Cut scallions and green garlic into thin rounds. Mince ginger (and regular garlic if not using green). Cut peppers and carrot into thin sticks, <1/4" across.
Heat a pan (ideally a wok, but I don't have one) on high, and pour about 1 tbsp oil in. Wait until very hot and add aromatics (ginger, garlic, scallions). Cook ~1 min or until fragant & beginning to soften a little. Add the vegetables and fry until slightly softened. Add a little soy sauce to deglaze the pan and continue cooking until most soy sauce has evaporated. Add a little sherry and do the same until not quite as much has evaporated, just enough left to dampen the rice a bit. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve over rice.

I was eating lunch in the company luchroom today and one of my coworkers came in and said "You always have the best-smelling lunches!" The person who was with him said "And veggie too" and so he asked me was I a vegetarian, and I said yes. He asked if I was vegan, and I said no, just veggie. (We then had a moment of clarification on the definition of vegetarian, but I don't want to get into that side rant.) He said "I could never do that," in a good-for-you-but-I-can't-understand-it kind of way, and unfortunately left before I could say that I used to feel that way too.

"I couldn't do it" is something that veggies hear a lot, and if I get a chance to say that I used to think so too, the person saying it never seems very pleased to hear that! I think people use it as an excuse. They believe that being vegetarian is "good", but they think it's okay that they don't do it, because they just like meat too much. And I was once one of these people, so this is by no means a judgmental take on it. I only just realized what the psychology is, and it's based on a misconception the depth of whose falsehood has only recently become clear to me.

Omnivores, in most cases, are suffering from a failure of imagination. They're imagining their current diet with the meat removed, or replaced by tofu (which many people have never had cooked in a good way). They're thinking of a lot of plain, boring vegetables and salad, white starches, and boring cheese. Or they're thinking of hippie food stereotypes -- endless granola and sprouts. Or endless beans and rice. Heads up: this is not how vegetarians have to eat (although maybe some of them do). Even if you've seen a lot of vegetarian stuff and you think you're pretty familiar, there'll be gaps in your understanding.

I will freely admit that when I started my experiment with eliminating my meat consumption, I was probably thinking about one of these things. I was totally skeptical. Although I've never liked lamb, plain steak, or plain pork very much, I loved ground beef and beef in pieces (stir-fry, beef stew), chicken in all forms off the bone, turkey, ham, bacon (if lean), pastrami, pepperoni, etc. I didn't have any idea how I was going to go without those things. Luckily for me, I conceived what turned out to be a great idea: do it in stages, and learn as I went along. I didn't want to become one of those vegetarians who only eats cheese and junk food -- even in the infancy of the impulse, I actually did want to eat more vegetables, more variety.

Honestly, I think this is probably the best way to change a diet in any direction, unless you're under time pressure (eg you had a heart attack). I stopped eating red meat and pork first, followed later by poultry, and even later by fish, so I've only been a pure vegetarian for six months or so (though I never ate much fish anyway) even though I've not eaten beef in about four years. Even within that, I stopped some things faster than others. I ate lunch meat for longer than any other kind of meat, and tuna longer than any other type of fish. I stopped eating things in my own cooking long before giving them up when going out to eat -- for example, I've not cooked a fish or chicken of my own accord since 2002 or so, but I ate both in restaurants until 2004 or later. I've basically been learning vegetarian cooking since 2003, when I started cooking for myself in Scotland. And that's the key.

Not necessarily cooking, although I think that's hugely helpful and makes an enormous difference, but eating new things. I cooked or made one or more new recipes a week for all of the 2003-2004 school year. After that I recycled a few, but kept exploring. I continued my hunt for good cookbooks. I gradually experimented with veggie equivalents for things like lunch sandwiches. In the course of this, I also tried a lot of ingredients I wasn't terribly familiar with because I had disliked them as a child or one of my parents did, or my parents thought I did, or just didn't use them. Chickpeas, eggplant, lentils, split peas, leeks, fennel, barley, oats (which I never had other than in cookies or instant oatmeal until recently), rutabaga, turnip, parsnip...I don't remember them all, but I discovered lots of new foods. I learned to substitute things I like for things I don't, like zucchini for mushrooms. I learned the importance of herbs and spices. This has continued recently with my introduction to quinoa (a Peruvian grain, via Michael), udon noodles (Japanese, ditto), black lentils (via vegetarian haggis), and wheat berries (popular in Italy, via tha Barefoot Contessa (transitively via metacub, who introduced me to Ina's show)). I discovered that I love tofu, which is certainly an advantage for a vegetarian, though not required. I discovered that I don't like butter beans, pinto beans, or white beans, so my bean dislike still exists, it's just less wide and less extreme. :-) I've generally tried not to depend on things that are like meat but vegetarian, eg veggie burgers. I find them limiting to the kind of creativity that I've found to be essential in the transition away from meat. But I do like Quorn and sometimes use it in stir-fry. And veggie burgers (or plain beans and rice!) are fine for a quick standby.

Recently I've been applying this same method to attempting to become vegan. As before, I started out skeptical. I'm still checking out brands of soymilk; it's not my favorite. Rice milk is ok but not great for you. Tofutti "Better Than Cream Cheese" isn't, but it's definitely a fine substitute. But as before, the main key has been and is to explore new foods and new recipes, or adapt recipes that transfer easily. If all the things I eat and enjoy on a daily basis are rich and varied enough to satisfy me, and they're all vegan, then I become vegan "by default", though it can only happen through an application of effort in finding each individual new dish and ingredient. And only gradually. If I had to become vegan tomorrow, I'd succumb to the same failure of imagination that troubles most omnivores who think they "could never do that": I'd imagine my current diet with no eggs and milk, and fail at conceiving a true fully vegan diet (despite having eaten about 15% of my meals over the last few months with a vegan, and many of my own recipes being vegan anyway).

So, if you think it's a good idea to be vegetarian, or eat less meat, but you "could never do that" because [fill in your reason here], consider giving it a try. A small, gradual, experimental try. Buy a new cookbook, try a veggie sandwich at your lunch place, or buy a vegetable you've never cooked before and look up a recipe on the internet. (Use a food blog or good food site like the BBC, Food Network, or vegetarian magazines, if you can; general databases are of wildly varying quality.) Try adapting a favorite meat recipe -- I make a great veggie chili, and I just got a good recipe for lentil tacos down. In fact, why don't I list that one in case any of you are feeling adventurous today...

Lentil Tacos

1/2 c each black (beluga) lentils and brown lentils
1 bell pepper (or 1/2 ea red and green, for color), chopped small
1 medium onion, chopped small
Oil for sauteing
Mexican spice mix to taste (~ 2 tbsp I think)
Water for cooking (2 c)
Taco topping material: chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar, minced scallions, shredded lettuce or chopped cilantro, sour cream, whatever you like
Taco shells (or chips or tortillas (lard-free) if you prefer)

Cook lentils in 1 c water each, until tender, approx 40 minutes (black may take longer, but mine didn't). The black will be firmer and hold their shape more. Don't try to cook them to be the same as the brown. Drain the brown, drain and reserve the cooking liquid from the black.
During last cooking phase, chop the veg. Heat the oil over med heat (a few tablespoons...I don't so much measure stuff usually :) ) and add the onions. Saute 30 sec, add some spice mix, continue sauteing until beginning to become translucent. Add the peppers, saute until looking lightly cooked. Add the lentils and more spice mix, and a little of the reserved cooking water. Cook for 5-10 min, adding more cooking water as needed, and spice as desired. When the brown lentils are a pasty base for the mixture, you're done. Serve garnished with toppings.

This recipe is mostly vegan; to keep it all on the up and up, use soy sour cream (no cheddar, or use soy cheese, but I hear it's not good, so I'd recommend avoiding it unless you're hardcore) and make sure the spice mix and the shells or tortillas are vegan. Yes, some spice mixes aren't vegan, nor are many tortillas -- they can contain milk protein.

Addendum: In the comments, enshanam points out this lovely post by Barbara of Tigers and Strawberries. Some food for thought for those of you chowing down on grocery-store meat...

I've now tried this recipe set on two different occasions, and it's gotten rave reviews on both, so I think it's worth posting. All the recipes are based on cookbook recipes, but except for the tahini dip, they've been modified. The tahini dip was perfect the way it was -- I got it out of my Mostly Vegetarian cookbook, which is the best cookbook I own. I'd never used tahini before, but I've decided that I like it (although not plain!).

Marinated grilled vegetables (and tofu) with dressed wild rice mixture and tahini dip
(1 tbsp. = 15 mL, 1 tsp. = 5 mL)

Marinated grilled vegetables:
Aubergine (eggplant), peppers, red onions, and courgettes (zucchini) are all good grill vegetables. You can also grill pressed tofu (which I like) or mushrooms, if you like them. For four people, one aubergine, three peppers (preferably different colors), two courgettes, and perhaps a bit of onion or tofu is adequate.
For the marinade:
ratio of 1:2 of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (at least six tablespoons/~100 mL total for the amount of vegetables indicated above)
Pinch dried oregano
1-2 tbsp. minced spring onions (scallions), lower parts only (white and light green) (about 2 small spring onions)
1/2 garlic clove, pressed in a garlic press or grated
salt and pepper to taste

Wild rice mixture:
equal parts wild rice and brown rice (one half to two thirds cup of each, for four people)
Follow cooking instructions -- wild rice about 45+ minutes, brown rice about a half hour. Water to rice ratio for brown is 2:1, for wild rice, 1.75:1.
For the dressing:
3:2 ratio of extra-virgin olive oil to balsamic vinegar (about five tablespoons/~75 mL total for the amount of rice indicated above)
two cloves garlic, crushed in a press
2 tbsp. chopped thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Tahini dip:
1 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2/3 cup yogurt (160 mL)
1/2 garlic clove, crushed in a press
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. fresh coriander (cilantro)

Put rice on to cook and make dressing, marinade, and dip by mixing ingredients; cut up vegetables. When the rice is nearly done, cover vegetables thoroughly in marinade, and grill until slightly blackened. Serve vegetables over a bed of rice, topped with tahini dip. Can be served hot or cold.

The bus stops here have poles with signs on them, which give the bus numbers that stop at the bus stop. The signs also sometimes say something like "buses via Sighthill, Slateford, Gorgie, and Surgeons' Hall". For a long time, I thought that this was just a characteristic example of someone using via incorrectly, because the places referred to are always places that are further on in the route, not places that the bus has already been through. But the other day when I was looking at one of the signs, I finally realized what they mean by via: the buses go through the places listed on the way to their termini; that is, they go via those places. It's a good example of why I shouldn't assume that I'm right when I think other usages are wrong -- sometimes I just don't understand.

I made a salad to go with my dinner tonight which was both tasty and aesthetically pleasing. I present it here for your enjoyment:

Green and Orange Salad (with feta cheese and balsamic vinegar)

crisp lettuce leaves
orange bell pepper
carrots
cucumber
scallions (spring onions)
feta cheese
olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pepper

Tear the lettuce leaves, and cut the other ingredients into your preferred shape. Crumble the feta cheese over the salad (use enough to make it tasty, but not too much, since feta is quite strong), add a little oil and vinegar, and toss. Grate fresh pepper over the salad. Eat.

Incidentally, I always thought balsamic contained the letter L after the second A as well. Thank goodness my dictation software knows how to spell.

I invented a recipe today!

It is very vague because I didn't measure anything. I just took what I had and what I thought would taste good. :)

Fresh ginger and garlic, peeled and crushed or chopped. (About two cloves of garlic, and similar volume of ginger.)
Some cumin, coriander, and a little cayenne pepper. Probably around three teaspoons of cumin and coriander, and just a dash of cayenne.
1 onion chopped
1 small eggplant cubed (1/2" cubes)
1 can chickpeas
1 can chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic, ginger, spices for a bit in a pot with a little oil, until the spices are aromatic. Then add the onions and eggplant. Saute until onion is translucent and eggplant is getting soft. Pour the tomatoes and chickpeas into the pot. Add a little water if necessary for desired consistency. Boil gently for awhile, until eggplant is very soft and tasty and chickpeas mush easily when eaten.

Then you have Alexis Eggplant Chickpea Stew! Serve with whatever you want. I made some rice to go with it, but bread or salad or both would work, or just it by itself.

Recipe for comfort-food bliss:

Cut 1 large white potato with thin skin (a boiling potato, not a baking potato) into slices. Boil until the slices are very tender when poked with a fork.
Drain the potato slices and put them on a plate.
Spear a lump of butter and rub a generous amount over the potatoes.
Thinly grate a small amount of cheddar cheese (enough that the cheese is plentiful but not a solid cover) over the potatoes.
Add plenty of salt and pepper. Sprinkle some chives (dried or fresh) and a pinch or two of dried dill and parsley.

Serve immediately.

Ummmmm.


I rarely eat potatoes this way when they've been baked, but the boiling gets rid of all the skin problems and makes the potato amazingly tender (this would probably also be good if they were mashed up while adding the extras).

I like cooking, I've discovered. I wish I didn't feel like I was wasting time that should be better spent doing work.