Good Musings

What do you see in this photo? Take a few moments to list the nouns, verbs, adjectives — yes, even the judgments — that come to mind. 

Here’s what I see: Fear. Embarrassment. A raucous dinner with friends. A fun-fueled mess. 

What you don’t see: Me backing away from this stove, in defeat.

The trouble started when I asked my friend Irina, our dinner host, “What can I do to help?” Irina was busy mixing the sauce for  Pad Thai. She handed me a bowl with batter, a jar of kimchi, and said, “make the kimchi pancakes.” 

That’s when fear set in. I have never made a decent pancake. They come out too thick, spongy and raw inside, or too thin, and stick to the pan. Which is why I avoid pancake recipes.

“Of course you can make pancakes,” Irina told me. “You write a cooking blog.” More fear.

I rolled up my sleeves, splashed a smidgeon of sesame oil into the frying pan, and warmed it.

The batter was way too thick. Had I tested it before I poured it into the pan, I would have known to add water. 

Pancake #1: Thick, spongy, and raw inside. Embarrassment.

Pancake #2: Too thin, stuck to the pan. More embarrassment.

Watching me struggle, another guest, our friend Paola, said, “I’ll make the pancakes. I’m really good at them.” But even Paola was not good enough to turn these pancakes into a success.

Why?

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1. In my Perfect World, humans would eat only plant-based foods. But I’m a realist. My intent is to encourage you to discover new plant-based recipes you love, wherever you are on the omnivore-vegan spectrum.
2. Instagram, Tik Tok, Pinterest, and YouTube are exploding with plant-based recipes and sublime, mouthwatering photos of the finished product. My role as Recipe Explorer and Tester is to share the best of this with you. (I do the trolling, so you don’t have to).
3. I’m grateful that products made by companies like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat exist, but I don’t eat them.
4. People who say “I hate kale” have not tasted these kale chips.
5. Plant-based cheese that is served on a cheese platter rarely tastes like cheese. It often tastes good, but calling it “cheese” is likely to lead to disappointment. (At least for now. Many folks are working on this).
6. I’m grateful that restaurants like Slutty Vegan and Plant Pub exist, but junk food is junk food, whether it involves animal products or not. As a treat, yes, as a habit, no.
7. People who say, “I hate tofu” have not tasted air fryer crispy tofu croutons.
8. Happiness is a prolific summer garden that produces too many tomatoes.
9. Eat food. Not too much. Only plants. (Hats off to Michael Pollan).

I’m often asked why my husband Max and I chose not to have children. Most people have kids, just as most people enjoy a Thanksgiving turkey, pizza with cheese and perhaps pepperoni, and, on a hot summer night, a barbecue with hot dogs, burgers and chicken. We are not among those people. Opting out of cultural defaults; e.g., deciding not to have kids and not eat animals, raises eyebrows and demands explanations.

There’s no single reason Max and I stopped eating animal products. And over time, the reasons have changed. (The same is true for not having kids).

Preaching belongs in churches (or if you are Joaquin Phoenix, at the Oscars), not here. So I won’t preach you our reasons, I’ll inform. Succinctly. And I won’t bring it up again. I promise.

Top 4 Reasons to Eat Fewer (or No) Animal Products:Read More