Vegan Week

I'm trying something out this week.... and you can probably guess what it is by the title of the post! That's right, I'm attempting to last seven full days without eating any animals OR animal byproducts. It really is a challenge, and here's why: ice cream and chocolate. And sushi! I work at a Thai restaurant with a sushi bar, and sometimes I have access to unwanted/extra/specially made sushi and sashimi when I'm working. I am a huge, HUGE lover of sushi, especially the raw fish part. And of course, on Monday night, the first day of this vegan experiment, some salmon and tuna sashimi became freely available to me. I confess.... I ate it. So day one didn't quite live up to its aspirations. But today is Thursday, day four of the experiment, and I have not had any lapses since that first salmon-and-tuna seduction! Any day that I can survive without eating any ice cream or chocolate is a real victory, and I am now up to four in a row. (Assuming that I make it through today...)

Success has not come without temptations! My friend Pete, the sushi chef, offered me some eel on Wednesday. He asked me if I like eel, and I said "yes!" And then he was going to prepare it for me.... but then I caught myself and said "wait, no! Not this week!" This lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment and offending my dear friend. I had to explain why I couldn't eat the delicious eel I had been offered, and I did.

This type of event happens often in the life of the vegan/vegetarian/flexitarian/what-have-you. People are driven to ask, "why?" And every time my dietary choices are questioned I am reminded that the answer isn't obvious. Not everyone is acutely aware of the impact of eating meat on the environment and on our bodies. Not everyone makes the connection between the living, breathing, cute and cuddly cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese (okay, I admit that turkeys and geese don't have the cute and cuddly thing going for them so much), and the steaks, burgers, patties, ribs, chops, sausages, bacon, breasts, thighs and livers on their plates. When one is eating a crispy slice of bacon, it hardly occurs to one that somewhere a pig died a likely brutal, terrible death to bring him that greasy good bite. And for many, many people, even becoming totally aware of that connection is not enough to overcome the immediate appeal of a delicious club sandwich. I admit that for most of my life, I ate chicken like it was going out of style, knowing that it came from chickens but putting that thought from my mind. I liked the taste. I couldn't spoil my enjoyment by considering the icky idea that birds are farmed, injected, crowded, overfed and killed in massive numbers to make those chicken nuggets I so fancied with a generous dollop of honey mustard.

Reality came crashing in on me when I read John Robbins' The Food Revolution in the summer of 2006. Not only did I find out lots of gory details about the meat and dairy industries, I also learned some stunning statistics about the health implications of meat-based versus plant-based diets. I was becoming more and more interested in nutrition, and I had already stopped eating red meat simply because I never liked it all that much, but I was still eating chicken. Then I read that people who eat chicken -even just once a month- are more likely to get colon cancer. I knew about colon cancer, and I had some chronic intestinal issues of my own. That was all I needed to hear. I gave up chicken that day.

It's true that for me, choosing not to eat meat and poultry began more out of an interest in my own health than anything else. It wasn't the nasty conditions in a chicken house that changed my habits... it was caring about my colon. But having made the change, growing ever more aware of the food industry and how much I am instinctively appalled by the killing of any animal only reinforces my decision. Not to mention, I have not had any serious problems with my intestine since I gave up meat. And to be honest, I don't even like the thought of chicken anymore. It has lost all appeal. I used to make an exception on Thanksgiving every year to eat turkey with my family, but this year I stuck to stuffing and gravy (still sooooo good....), no meat for me. Now I am happy to drown french fries, vegetables, bread, and other foods in honey mustard. I think all along, my love for chicken was really just a love for a nice, mild carrier for sauces. And tofu is really the perfect sauce vehicle! Who needs chicken nuggets?!

While figuring out what I eat is an ongoing process which tends to confuse and bewilder my family, I love trying new foods and new plans. Limiting myself often forces me to become more aware of what I'm eating and what's in it. While I have infinite admiration for everyone who lives a conscious, healthy vegan lifestyle, it is usually such a daunting challenge that I don't do it. I love fish, and obviously ice cream and chocolate. And I like eggs, which are very healthy in moderate amounts. But I also know that it is possible to have a healthy diet without them, and I like the challenge of cutting out animal foods to experience the effort it takes. Plus, it's an excuse to learn new vegan recipes and discover delicious foods I have never tried before!

One day I hope to go to this restaurant, Ubuntu, that I read about in one of my FAVORITE magazines, O, The Oprah Magazine in July 2009. It sounds so amazing, with a focus on vegetables, community and real "cuisine." It reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite local restaurants, Melt in Northside, only without ANY meat, and with more of a fancy gourmet pedigree. No disrespect to Melt... it's about as close to a real California vegetarian restaurant as I've seen here in Cincinnati!

Well, it's time to sign out for now! I have to go start making dinner: whole wheat penne with olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and toasted pine nuts, one of my favorites! Served with freshly baked bread. Rich and I both love the parbaked bread from Kroger.... dinner's going to be goooooood tonight!

Thanksgiving

This past weekend was Thanksgiving, and I spent it with my dad's parents in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, like I have almost every year that I can remember. (One year, we all went to my aunt and uncle's house instead. Other than that, I can't remember any exceptions.) It's a seven-hour drive to my grandparents' house, which is why we usually make the trip to see them just once a year. I wish we were closer, though. My grandmother- Grammy- nearly always hosts Thanksgiving, and for good reason. She is the most amazing cook. She makes her own jam and jelly, pickles, and just about anything else you could name completely from scratch, and she is an avid gardener, growing vegetables and the most diverse collection of herbs I have ever seen. Dill, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme.... I can't even remember them all. The salad we had on Friday night, filled with fresh vegetables and herbs from their backyard, was stunning. I wish I had taken a picture!

I have always known that she is an incomparable cook and gardener, but it was not until this year that I really began to appreciate how amazing my grandmother really is. She grew up in the Ukraine in the 1930s and escaped from the Soviet Union into Germany (on foot!) during World War II. That is where she met my grandfather, an American soldier, and married him in 1948. Just this year I discovered what an unbelievable journey it really was, because she typed out an 8-page recollection of her early life for all of us to read. She talks about her childhood, playing in the backyard of her grandparents' house, where there were sweet cherry trees, apricots, and one old apple tree, as well as red and black currant bushes, gooseberries and a strawberry patch. Her love of gardening was born during this idyllic time.

Grammy was 16 when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, and during the next seven years of her life she endured hardships I can hardly conceptualize. She lived without heat or running water and scant access to food in a place where temperatures fell below -30*C in the winter, and worked jobs where the pay was a loaf of birdseed-bread once a week, to be shared with the rest of the family. All of this with soldiers fighting outside their home, bombs falling nearby and "civilians"- Jews- being rounded up for execution across the street. They hardly knew which side to root for, as they would be living under either Hitler or Stalin when it was all over.

It was in these conditions that the family decided to flee westward into Germany. They became refugees and walked to Western Ukraine, where they took a truck to Poland and then Germany. Grammy got a job working for the UN at the refugee camp where they ended up in Germany, and then met Grandpa, who brought her to the United States. They have been married over 60 years!

I can't help but be in awe of the strong, courageous person my grandmother is. I have always known her as my sweet, affectionate Grammy, who gives the biggest hugs and dotes on her four sons, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. To realize what incredible adversity she overcame at such a young age absolutely blows my mind and gives me some perspective on the trivial problems that stress me out every day. What are traffic and a slow computer next to walking 3 miles in the snow to work at a job that pays in bread, which is all your family will have to eat that week? They are indicative of the extravagant luxuries I take for granted every moment of my staggeringly privileged life.

I intended to write a post about the fantastic feast Grammy cooks up for Thanksgiving every year, and how once a year I break my personal ban on poultry for the extraordinary deliciousness of her stuffing and gravy. And her pecan pie!!!!!!!! I must remember to get that recipe.

But much more important is that I appreciate how lucky I am to have this amazing woman as my grandmother. Not only does she speak three languages and embody everything I could only hope to become, she was growing her own organic vegetables for DECADES before it became cool!

Here's to you, Grammy. I could not love you any more!