Ruminations on Vegetarianism

I've been a vegetarian for nearly a year now. I find that the most exhausting thing about being a vegetarian is explaining it to people. Most of the time I try to avoid discussing it because it's rarely an issue. I would never request a veggie-only option at a dinner party and there's usually french fries on any menu that I can eat and eat happily. But inevitably the topic comes up and I have to explain my decision to people, either because they are curious or because they take offense. (Why people care what I eat is really beyond me, but seems like these days everything is offensive to at least one person.) My sister is an on-again-off-again vegetarian, so she asked me once with actual interest. After we discussed my reasons, she suggested I write it here. Since I get to decide the content of my blog, I thought it was a good idea!

Every vegetarian is probably different, but my philosophy boils down to three main points.

1) Eating meat is natural.

Humans have evolved in part because of our meat-eating -- we have those crazy, meat-tearing teeth!  We hunted wild animals and obtained the proteins we needed for our brains to evolve.  We domesticated animals and raised them to provide food for our families.  In short, eating only vegetables and grains is not the most natural diet for humans, at least historically speaking.  (I'm sure most vegetarians would disagree with me, but this is my philosophy!)

ancient weapons (source)

2) Eating meat has BECOME completely unnatural.

Our meat consumption in this country is beyond ridiculous.  We eat entirely too much meat.  Part of the reason is because meat has become cheap and easy to come by.  Our domestication of animals for meat consumption has turned into big business.  We raise animals quickly and cheaply without any real regard for the health of the animal AND the health of the humans who eat that animal.  How many times have you read in the news about a meat recall due to e-coli or some other disease?  Too many times.  Instead of taking the time to raise healthy animals that would produce healthy meat, we've taken shortcut after shortcut and now the entire meat industry literally makes me sick.  It's unnatural.  What might be even more distressing than the meat industry is the willing ignorance of so many people.  The information and the knowledge is everywhere.  Books, movies, the news.  But people choose to ignore it because "If I really knew how it worked, I couldn't eat meat anymore."  Seriously?  That's just stupid. 

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

3) If I could kill it, I can eat it.

But the trip from eating only farmer's market meats to full-on vegetarianism had to do with my work with an animal rescue.  It became really hard for me to reconcile my adoration for dogs and cats with my desire to eat cows and pigs (I stopped eating chicken years ago...it's gross).  I understand that culturally, they are different animals to us.  But for me, I could no longer separate animals into pet and food categories.  I simply do not feel comfortable with the thought of any animal being killed.  So it seemed odd that I would eat the fruits of a labor that quite literally makes me cry.  So my new rule became: once I can actually slaughter the animal myself, I can eat the animal.  But if I can't, well then I'll eat rice and beans.  So because right now I can't kill animals, that means I will not eat animals.

(source)

So there you go.  Those are my reasons for being a vegetarian.  Who knows...maybe at some point in my life I'll be comfortable eating meat again.  Maybe not.  But this explains why I'm so nostalgic for meat (except chicken...gross).  I don't have a problem with meat consumption on a general level, so long as the animals are treated ethically and the people have a sense of respect for the animal they are eating.  On a personal level though, I just cannot do it.  But don't be offended.  I'm not offended by you and your steak-eating habits and with the exception of this post, I rarely preach about vegetarianism.  So let me eat my vegetables!!

**There was a great article in Time recently about a meat-eater making efforts to be a little more ethical about his meat consumption.  Remember: you don't have to be a vegetarian to be an ethical eater!**

Restaurant Review :: La Cucaracha

Let me first go on the record as saying that 95% of the time, I love La Cucaracha.  It's a fantastic little dive-y Mexican food joint on Dale, right between Summit and Grand.  Ever since I became familiar with Summit Hill in St. Paul, I've been a big fan of this place.  I've gone here with my parents, with my friends, and even for a post-marathon lunch!  So I suggested La Cucaracha when my uncle was in town visiting from Florida.  And then I hit that 5% . . .

Back in my pre-veggie days, I flipped over the carnitas at La Cucaracha.  Holy wow that was an amazing dish!  Now I stick with the huevos rancheros.  Fried eggs covered in spicy red sauce and cheese with refried beans and topped with slices of onion.  All with a side of roasted potatoes.  DELISH.  I think part of the reason I love this dish is because of my odd obsession with egg yolks!  Seriously.  It makes everything taste just a little bit richer. 

So my meal arrived looking tasty.  But after one bite, I knew it was not going to be up to par.  The food was cold, which meant that the cheese had lost a bit of its melty goodness and was more like a room-temperature blob.  The worst part was that the fried eggs were overcooked, so the yolks were cooked all the way through.  BUMMER!!  No tasty egg yolks for me.  The potatoes had potential, but because they had probably been sitting for a while, they lacked a crispness that roasted potatoes generally have.  Overall, it was very sigh worthy.  *Sigh*

Let me be clear!  This did not stop me from eating nearly everything on my plate, which tells you something about the caliber of the food, even on its off days.  I've had better from La Cucaracha and I expect that the next time I head in there all will be right with the world.  I fully intend to re-review La Cucaracha my next time there!  So if you're in St. Paul and craving Mexican food, you should certainly consider La Cucaracha.  Especially if it's not during a busy dinner rush!

St. Paul Farmers' Market

It's finally time for the farmer's market!  Well, they've actually been up and running for a while now, but this last weekend was the first opportunity I had to go to my farmer's market and buy some delicious produce.  I go to the St. Paul Farmers' Market in Lowertown, which is on East 5th Street, about a block away from Mears Park.  It's open at 6am Saturdays and 8am on Sundays and is open through 1pm.  They have a more limited schedule in the winter, but right now it's in full swing.

I adore the St. Paul market.  I love going there early Sunday mornings and walking around with my cup of coffee.  I love talking to the farmers about their produce and learning things about tomatoes and herbs.  I love the sea of reusable grocery bags.  I love that everything at the St. Paul market is local...you won't find any rogue bananas or mangoes here!  It's a lovely little community.  Can I say "love" just one more time?

This Sunday I had a bit of spare time to take a leisurely stroll around the market and check out all of the seasonal options.  I found lettuces, sugar snap peas, the ever-confusing kohlrabi, rhubarb, garlic chives (yes!), bedding plants, and the beginnings of broccoli.  And wait, what's this.... strawberries!  You haven't lived until you've had a strawberry fresh from a farm.  These oddly-shaped, miniature morsels are packed with a sweet, juicy punch.  Plus they are just so cute. 

I also saw some of my favorite local vendors, including the Wolf Honey Farm from the St.Croix Valley.  They make some amazing honey and you can try each variety to see which tastes best to you.  I picked up a bottle of the more mild clover honey and perused some of the beeswax products and the honey sticks.  But seriously, who wouldn't love that bee hat!

Then I picked up some salsa from Snappy Dog Salsa.  I tasted the mild and medium options, but then they pointed me to a rhubarb salsa.  I was skeptical.  But after a quick taste, I realized they were on to something!  It was spicy with a bit of a sweet, tart edge from the rhubarb.  So I bought me a jar of this totally awesome, seasonal salsa.  They recommended pairing the salsa with some chopped-up avocado for a really easy guacamole.  Yum.

I also love the flowers at the St. Paul market.  So many colorful varieties, and wow are they reasonably priced.  I've had a few friends that used flowers from the farmer's market for their weddings and it always turned out gorgeous.

But this year I'm going to try growing some herbs and unlike last year, I'm going to try to keep them alive!  It's hard because my apartment windows don't face the sun so much as they face the side of a neighboring apartment.  But I'm hoping that proper placement and a bit more love than I apparently gave my plants last year will be sufficient to grow some basil, rosemary, and thyme. 

I'm sure I'll have more posts about the St. Paul Farmers' Market as the seasons continues.  Some weekends I go there just to learn something new about produce or growing my herbs.  And one of these days, I will succumb to the temptation of the egg rolls and spring rolls that one of the vendors serves!  Who says that you can't have an egg roll at 8:00 in the morning?