Happy Veg-a-versary!

Around this time of year, 15 years ago, I decided to stop eating meat.  I still don't know the exact trigger; it might have been dorm food, it might have been that my friend was giving vegetarianism a whirl, it might have been a bit of college rebellion against the status quo.  Whatever the reason, it stuck. I endured a fair amount of tormenting (mostly good-natured) from my family, and my poor Grandpa never quite really reconciled himself with the fact, but I haven't been terribly tempted to turn back.

My vegetarianism has, however, become a lot more flexible in recent years.  I started out without fish and seafood (although I never could let go of shrimp), but a trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida ended that streak.  Since then, the list has grown to include turkey on Thanksgiving,  an annual cheeseburger (which is the only thing in the meat world that I crave. The annual burger tradition began as a gift to Grandpa on his birthday and is now eaten in his memory), a bite or two of Erik's Texas beef ribs at Redbones, an occasional roasted chicken at home, and a bite or two of bratwurst hot from the grill at markets around Germany. Ironically, the first trimesters of both of my pregnancies left me briefly unable to stomach vegetables, but craving the most processed meat available (hot dogs, Oscar Mayer bologna, and Arby's Beef n' Cheddar, none of which I've eaten since I was like 14). 

The question of Erik's dietary preferences arises predictably from discussion of vegetarianism. Does Erik eat meat? Oh, yes.  So does Elsa, who can put away an entire bratwurst or a fair portion of Erik's ribs at the aforementioned Redbones (don't worry, Erik has plenty of his own between sharing with his ladies). However, he will eat anything I make as long as I give him the occasional break from legume/ grain creations. 

That's not a veggie burger. Or a vegetarian.

Anyway, in honor of this Veg-a-versary, I am going to make and post one of my favorite recipes every day for a week (I know it should probably be 15 days for 15 years, but yikes. That's a lot of recipes to come up with without violating someone's copyright).  I chose this week, following Karneval (which means "farewell to meat"), in case you are choosing to give up meat for Lent, need new meatless Friday ideas, or just need something to change things up in the dull late winter months. I will never try too hard to bring you over to my side, but maybe you would consider going meat-free one day a week. You might like it! Guten Appetit!