Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Creative Dinner

Already bored with my meal options, last night I decided to get a little creative in preparing dinner. By "creative" I mean throwing anything that wasn't meat into a wok and smothering it with tikka masala sauce. The final ingredient count:

· 1/2 red onion

· 1 Chinese cabbage

· 1/4 red pepper

· Random bits of frozen peas & corn

· 2 frozen broccoli spears

· 2 frozen tofu breakfast patties (from 2 years ago, during our egg mcmuffin phase)

· 1 jar of prepared masala sauce

· rice
Not only was it tasty, but I was also able to clean out most of my fridge & freezer!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Feedback

Wow, what great feedback from my fans! I'd like to take a moment and share some terrific and insightful comments from the world.

Kelly: going meatless is easier than you would think...(she lists many restaurants in the next paragraph, but I lost interest in reading)...http://www.101cookbooks.com/ has some great recipes... the options are endless. godspeed in your quest sir. [Uh, thanks Kelly!]

Matt: I don't really know how I can pretend to respect you anymore... I think that the sooner you fail at this, the sooner I'll regain my faith in you as a human.

Ben: Its not so bad -- I've cut out a lot of the meat in my diet as well, probably eat about 1/3 of what i used to (until I can afford local meat that I know what its been eating and how it was killed at least). You're asian... just fry up tofu into fake chicken pieces or something.

Elizabeth: looks like nothing on the panda express menu is vegetarian: "While Panda Express offers vegetable based entrees, they are not certified vegetarian due to our cooking process and use of shared equipment " and by cooking process they mean they soak everything in beef and pig fat. Be careful at lunch this week! I did a little research on qdoba and I think you're safe with rice and beans. [...DAMMIT.]

Meghan: But he didn't like his burrito today! He said it was "really sloppy and soft (that's what she said)."

Sonali: If you're looking for lunch places, I vote ABP/Panera - good sandwich/soup/wrap options, and their menus are well-labeled as to what is veg and what isn't...plus, you can generally watch them make your food. As for anything proclaiming to be a good meat-substitute -- no. It won't taste like meat and will probably be really, really bad. That being said, Trader Joe's has soy "meatballs" that are quite good (but don't taste anything like meat)...

Steve: There's a lot of talk of meats, how has no one said "that's what she said" besides Meghan?!
Said Ben, "I've cut out a lot of meat in my diet" - That's what she said
Said Kelly, "Going meatless is easier than you think." - That's what she said
Said Sonali, "It won't taste like meat and will probably be really, really bad." - That's what she said.....hopefully not to me...
I've used up all my "that's what she said" quota for the month. With that, good luck with your endeavors of going meatless (that's what she said). [Thanks man, excellent feedback, keep it up.]

Tuesday. Armageddon.

 
Cosmonaut Lev: "Components. American components, Russian Components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!"
 
Ate a vegetarian qdoba burrito for lunch.  It was 95% guacamole and sour cream.  Kinda gross.  On the plus side, only 500 more points until a free burrito!  Morale low.

Dammit blogger let me email photos onto this stupid site.

This is food?

This innocent looking chicken nugget is a lie. The nugget is a lie. The nugget is a lie.

It is, in fact, a "Chik'n Nugget" which advertises in small font is a "meatless and soy-free nugget substitute." Huh. It's main ingredient is Mycoprotein, which is a fungus. Gross. It mostly tastes like crunchy cardboard dosed with a generous sprinkling of pepper. Luckily, barbecue sauce makes everything taste better. Hell with this rabbit food, I'm sticking with pizza and burritos.


Sent from my iPhone

Monday, March 15, 2010

Reborn




Teaser line: What do Abe Lincoln, Michael Jackson, and Jesus have in common? Well, besides being dead and having their own Wikipedia page, they’re vegetarians! Who cares? Read on to find out!


A new year means a new start for the scooter blog. Like a phoenix reborn from its ashes, so shall the scooter blog be revived (at least until I get bored with it again) and restored beyond its original glory. “How so?” you might wonder. As the scooter is winterized for a few more weeks, this blog will be converted to my daily journal during my “week-long” adventure as a “vegetarian.” GASP! Your first astonished question might be, “What the heck are you talking about?” For those that know me, my categorization of vegetarianism fits into the same bubble as Unicorns, the Bermuda Triangle, and Republicans. Essentially, things that are mystifying, and perhaps to a lesser degree, known for their magical healing abilities. Well, this “week” I begin to pop these bubbles. For the next “week” I will consume no meat, and hope the animals that would normally be sacrificed for my consumption will instead be used for other practical purposes or eaten by Steve Li. I may even donate some small monetary contribution at the completion of my journey to some sort of charity, but I haven’t thought that far, in fact this idea just popped into my head while I was trying to find a way to conclude this run-on sentence. Your second question might be, “Why all the quotation marks?” To be honest, I don’t really know if I can refrain from consuming delicious animal muscle tissue. So my “week,” which ideally would span 7 rotations of the Earth, may or may not, be really Wednesday (realistic goal date). Also, for clarification purposes, my definition of “vegetarian” is only not directly consuming animal parts, and does not include dairy products, eggs, and any insects that accidentally fly into my mouth while I sleep. Fish, shellfish, and foods knowingly cooked in animal broths will be avoided as well. However I will not be fanatical about checking ingredients, and magical things like "gelatin" I could care less about.



I am not doing this for the "greater good," not for health reasons, a wager, a social commentary on American consumerism, nor for any other real reason other than the fact that I want to give it an impromptu try, and to have something else to talk about besides March madness and play Call of Duty. Actually, that’s not completely true. ::Cue in patriotic music and wavy American flag backdrop:: Your choice of dietary decisions, along with political affiliation, sexual orientation, choice of religion, and along with many other preferences, is your own damn decision, and nobody should tell you otherwise.* Here’s the part where we all start chanting “USA, USA, USA!” and fist pump.


(*Caveat: except for arborphilia and cannibalism, because that’s just gross dude.)


How YOU can help: This tremendous effort will require additional support, as I am already craving some buffalo chicken wings or a nice juicy medium cheeseburger…no, must resist… So, I implore you, faithful readers (Meghan), to keep a wary eye on this blog, as it will reflect my physical and mental health. Signs of my degradation may begin to show as this week progresses by my lack of coherent writing ability (or more so), or severe symptoms, such as only posting quotes drawn from memory from the hit movies “Independence Day” and “Armageddon.” (I've seen these movies so many times; they’re ingrained scene by scene into my most basic neurological functions, alongside contracting my diaphragm and consistent myocardial tissue activity). In addition, please support my efforts by suggesting non-gross vegetarian foods in the comments section, as currently my only idea of non-meat foods to eat are meatless donuts, bean and rice qdoba burritos, and cheese pizza.


Thank you for reading, and enjoy the show.