For reasons of which I'm still not sure, I decided to give up meat eating for the month of January.
Health? no, healthwise, I'm fine. (sign of cross, knock wood, etc etc etc)
Weight loss? Nope - that wasn't the intention, either, and all my other high caloric vices remained intact.
Moral reasons? Concern about meat production's impact on the envirornment? No, and no again.
It was a far more selfish reason that drove this experiment. Boredom. I became bored with my meals, and figured that by eliminating the major component, I would be forced to try different things, and ways of cooking.
So, how did it go?
Ok, sort of.
The biggest problem stemmed from family disharmony. My wife is a meat eater - loves her steaks, her chops, her roast beef. Unlike me, she feels a meal without meat is somehow, incomplete. I was always happy to eat meatless meals, and in fact, have always kept two days a week meatless in a faux nod to the religious traditions which surrounded my childhood. Anyway, when I undertook this change, I promised that it wouldn't affect her in any way; it would be transparent. I would fix my meals and clean up any mess. She would eat her normal meals, and I would time things so that we could sit down together for dinner, as is our custom.
This was easier said than done, and to be perfectly honest, she very likely ended up washing more pots, more pans, and cleaning up more messes than she would have had we been eating the same meals. I sensed a bit of resentment, a bit of anger simmering beneath the surface of her otherwise sunny disposition.
Beyond that, I found it suprisingly easy . In the past, when I've tried to eliminate things from my diet, I ended up with terrible cravings, and frankly, almost always failed at those attempts. Chocolate? A few days, maybe. Bread and pasta? Are you kidding me? That didn't last long, either. But this was different. I didn't have any cravings whatsoever, even when I smelled a tri tip roasting in the oven, or when Cindy was fixing carnitas, one of my absolute favorites. Now, I did allow myself the luxury of seafood; this wasn't true vegetarianism by any stretch. But still, I remain surprised at how I simply don't miss beef, lamb, pork or poultry.
Meals were simple enough. I resolved at the very beginning of the month to always have a richly flavored vegetable stock on hand. So there were a lot of soups. Risotto. Pasta dishes, obviously. I ate tons of mushrooms. Eggplant parmigiana. Pizza. I made a few curries. Lentils. Quinoa. Oh, and beans. Rice and beans, sometimes with vegetables thrown in, sometimes as a chili. Frittata and souffles. I had a lovely herb stuffed trout, and shrimp a few times. In short, I didn't run out of ideas, and I very much enjoyed the change of pace.
The biggest challenge? Restaurants. I have a new found sympathy for my vegetarian friends out there, as the offerings in the typical restaurant are just not very good. And I was able to eat fish. For those eschewing seafood, well, I just don't know how you do it.
My most enjoyable restaurant meal of the month was sushi. Oh, and a perfectly outrageous chanterelle and egg pizza at American Flatbreads. Otherwise, it was salads and tuna sandwiches. Ugh.
If I missed one thing, it was my "gravy" - that's been a Sunday staple for me for a very long time, and not making meatballs on a Sunday morning seemed quite odd.
Anyway, it's over now, and I must say, I'm in no hurry to run out and have a juicy burger or steak. Yesterday, the 1st, was a Friday, and I kept it meatless as I do every Friday. I am going to try and extend my meatless streak into February as far as I can, without winding up in divorce court.
I am attending an Antinori dinner on the 6th, and one of the courses is wild boar stew, so that will surely be an endpoint for me.
And later this month, I'll be back in NY, cooking for Dad, and that means more meat. I wouldn't even try to explain this whole thing to him.
And Valentine's Day usually has me fixing one of Cindy's favorite meals - steak au poivre. And of course, her birthday's coming up.
Sigh.