I always used to joke with guests that there was a vegetarian option in our house - they could #@$* off!
But our ideas on food have been changing a lot lately.
We've not been basing our meals around the item of meat we have with it. Instead we've been looking at what vegetables we've got and going from there. The internet is great for ideas, as are other blogs and recipe books.
So now when we sit down for tea we're not saying it's such-and-such meat with veg for tea, we're making a much bigger deal about he veg we're using.
It's been a great few months eating like this, although I'm not sure our butcher would agree.
What's everyone's favourite vegetarian meal? Mine is either my wife's tomato tatin (posted on here last week) or a peach and chickpea curry from "A girl called Jack" cookbook.
Non-meat eating seems to be all the rage now, sadly we're committed carnivores, can't imagine a day without meat for the main meal. Unless it's fish.
ReplyDeleteI'd never get rid of meat. I love it too much. But cutting down has been Interesting just seeing what else we can eat.
DeleteLike I said to Cro, VEGETARIAN = Native American name for bad a hunter. My problem is that if I eat a vegetarian meal about an hour later I am hungry again. Right now my acorn squash soup is about as vegetarian as it gets for me.
ReplyDeleteI used to think the same but we've been doing some proper recipes with beans and pasta and I don;t seem to be hungry afterwards and I'm a big eater. It's taken me a long time to come to this way of thinking!
DeleteHi M Silvius!nWhen people not used to vegetarian eat that way and are hungry, it's because they have made a meal deficient in protein..this vegan eats protein at almost every meal...no growly tummy for me!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that you are saving money too, Kev.
Jane x
We're saving loads of money, our weekly butchers shop seems to have turned into a monthly one at the moment!
DeleteI think we should be championing homegrown meat and vegetables Kev. I can't think of many meals that I would enjoy without some beef. Us small farmers need people to eat beef.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think people need to eat less of it but know where it comes from. When they sit down for a meal they need to be able to say that bit of steak was from one of Northsiders Dave's cows. Pay more and eat less of it I think!
DeleteKev - we have spent the last several years trying to eat as locally and seasonally as possible. we only purchase meat when it is on sale and have a nice big freezer to keep it in. we have a lot friends who hunt so we get meat from them - for free! but we find that during the spring and summer, most of our meals are vegetarian...add some beans or rice and you fill up pretty good. we mostly eat meat in the winter - lots of stews and roasts and boiled dinners. it seems to work well for us. great post!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
I think that we'll be the same. Nothing beats a good stew when I've been on a cold roof all day!
Deletewe only eat meat at the weekend. its too expensive and I cant think of what to make in the week so we just eat vegetarian food.
ReplyDeleteWe started trying to have one meat free meal a week and it's gone on from there. When we've got fresh veg it's best to make the most of it.
DeleteWe started selling beef from our farm this year . It is amazing to see how interested people are in buying grass fed beef direct from the farmer. But as a family we find , now we are growing so many veges we only have meat ourselves a couple of times a week.
ReplyDeleteI think it's so much better to know where your meat comes from and veg for that matter. I hope you get to sell your beef at a slight premium.
DeleteAlthough we eat our own meat every day we still eat a lot of vegetables as well, including beans, but when we were in the UK we used to eat mostly vegetarian during the week. But do feel proud of yourself for what you are managing to achieve by way of providing your own food to eat.
ReplyDeleteBut by eating your won meat you've reached a key point in self sufficiency and you should feel good about that! We've been concentrating on veg growing so I suppose it's only natural thats what we concentrate on eating.
DeleteI think I am more like your old self. I do make rice and things like that, but I always cut up some sausage or stew beef and put it in there as well. My daughter does't eat meat, and when we have her visiting here on the mountain she makes some wonderful dishes. I probably use meat so much because my cooking skills are so basic. Fry everything. That's why we have so many strokes in the South, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI'll never stop eating meat but like I said it's just opened our eyes by concentrating on the veg instead. There are some dire vegetarian meals out there as well so it needs to be a good one and well cooked with care.
DeleteWe eat a lot of fruit and veggies but also have meat but I find we are only eating small amounts of it now, its not the mainstay of the meal.
ReplyDeleteIf your husband is still on the tools for the scaffolding then I'm sure he'll need all the food he can get as that is hard work!
DeleteDan is the must-have-meat eater in our family. Now that we've been trying to grow our own meat, he sees that realistically, meat is more of a flavoring than a main course. We have more vegetables so we eat more vegetables! Animals are essential on our homestead, but it's a whole lot faster and easier to pick, stuff, and cook an overgrown zucchini, rather than go out and prepare fresh home raised chicken for dinner.
ReplyDeleteI think using it as a flavouring is a great way. A couple of rashers of bacon can completely change a meal as can a few chunks of chorizo. Also as someone who hates dressing chickens I agree that veg are much quicker to prepare!
DeleteMy favourite veggie meal is simple, just a large jacket potato served with homemade coleslaw and a sprinkle of cheese.
ReplyDeleteAs Jane says it's having something with higher levels of protein in that stops you feeling hungry an hour or so after eating.
What a lot of people don't realise is that there is protein in virtually EVERY food we eat, excepting sugar. Having some fat in a meal is important too especially if you are eating vegetables, as it enables your body to absorb all the nutrients and vitamins from the veggies, hence our Grannies habit of always putting some butter in the peas or carrots.
They knew a lot did our Grannies, a shame more old ways aren't passed on in schools.
I hate coleslaw so thats out with me I'm afraid.
DeleteI do agree with what you're saying about schools teaching the "old ways" to a point but I think that responsibility should lie with the parents. I'm not sure the school would have taught that granny that tip, she would have learnt it from her mother or grand mother. We just need to make sure we pass on the knowledge.
I actually learnt most of my cooking from school, 'Housecraft' lessons, I guess the Home Economics of those days. My Mum was a busy working Mum with little time to be able to teach me anything in the kitchen, I don't remember us ever baking together.
DeleteI've been reading your blog for months. Love it! Here in PA we hunt and fish, buy beef, lamb, pigs and chicken local. But when the garden is ON it's what can i make with what's ripe? Most nights we have whatever needs cooked, with spices, in a soft tortilla shell. Yum! Or, when green beans were heavy they would get cooked with whatever else and served over rice maybe with a peanut sauce.
ReplyDelete