Day Two

Yesterday went really well. I can honestly say that I didn't notice the lack of meat or eggs, although possibly I was buoyed with enthusiasm at the start of a project. But there was a real excitement about needing to think more creatively about what I was eating. And that is the immediate difference between vegetable and meat based cooking, you can't be lazy. The first thing I noticed was the need to bring more variety to every plate of food, both in terms of the number of options on the table and in the complexity of the individual dishes. Last night we ate a meal made from the remains of the vegetable draw. We roasted chunky potatoes with crushed bay leaves, thyme and paprika. Alongside we roasted some cored bell peppers, and then stuffed them with a mixture of finely chopped red onion, garlic, leeks, rice, paprika, cheddar cheese and basil. The stuffed peppers went back into the oven to warm through and crisp on top, and we ate the two dishes with some baby peas from the freezer.

It was a lovely meal, but the noticeable thing was the way the peas became totally necessary. They provided a splash of vibrant colour and fresh sweetness alongside the two roasted dishes. I have found a similar principle on operation at lunch today. I made a lunchbox of the remaining stuffed

pepper and spare potatoes with salad leaves. For extra protein I threw in some cashew nuts, and then I added half a dozen green olives for variety. It was a delicious mixture. Surprisingly however, it was the bunch of sweet, juicy black grapes I had brought along and spontaneously ate alongside the salad which really made the mixture work. It seems that the key to satisfaction in vegetable cooking is finding a balance between sweet/salty/savoury/sour and between textures: soft/crunchy/juicy/creamy.

Day One

This is day one of a forty day fast of meat, fish and eggs. I want to explore what cutting animal proteins from my diet will do for my cooking, health, and connection to God. I am not suggesting that I believe eating animal flesh is intrinsically wrong, or that self-denial in some way deepens the spiritual bond between myself and my God. I do believe, however, that it is sometimes good to spend a season doing without something you take for granted, both in order to demonstrate to yourself that you don't need it quite so much as you thought you did, and to encourage a greater leaning of your personality on God.

So I am embarking on what I hope will be an adventure both spiritual and culinary. This blog will probably focus more on the latter, as I plan to use it to record my journey of eating during this season. I look forward to commenting on the meals I cook and choices I make, how satisfying or challenging they were, and the things I discover along the way about vegetarian cuisine.

Actually I should state at the outset that I have a food philosophy which really precludes the use of tags such as vegetarian cooking. I believe in a balanced diet, in which no food is bad food so long as it is grown or raised in an appropriate and humane way. As such I prefer not to eat meat that has been raised in the appalling factory conditions of much of modern agriculture. I want to know that the flesh I put on my fork has grown slowly, eaten organically, and lived naturally. I believe this approach to farming is better for the animals, our long-term agriculture, and for those of us who eat it. This choice means necessarily that I pay more for my meat, and so eat less of it. I would therefore take very seriously the perspective shared by so many that animal protein should be at the heart of our meals and the centre of our plates. Simply, it should not. Meat is a precious resource which should be farmed and eaten with respect as a small component of a much wider diet.

The reason I wouldn't use the term 'vegetarian' for vegetable based cooking, therefore, is that it limits the meals to being 'food without meat'. Surely this is simply wrong. A meal without meat is not a meal lacking in some vital component, and nor should the individual who chooses not to eat flesh be deficient in nutrition such as protein, as is so often implied when you mention vegetarian cooking to meat-eaters. Food based around fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts and grains - this is cooking at it's most creative and exciting, released from the tyranny of a central piece of meat with the vegetables as a mear afterthought.

I plan to spend the next forty days exploring vegetable-based cooking, and I hope to come away from it a better cook and a healthier, more balanced individual.