She's going vegetarian. . .

[Bitser]

And I'm the cook. We have quite a stash of meat in the freezer, including sausages and such that I cured at home. Once the meat is used up, I'll confront my own moral panic. But 'til then, I've been cooking a dual menu. Tonight, we had a half-and-half pizza: my part had homemade Italian sausage and mozzarella. Hers had veggie sausage and vegan cheese.

Being a sucker for cool kitchen gear, I bought some divided pans:

Tonight, I fried my sausage on one side and hers on the other.

This one works for burritos. Her veggie crumbles in one quarter, my chorizo in the other, and refried beans in the half.

So far, we are managing to keep the dietary peace.

 

[CharlieD]

Where did you find those pans? Love it.

 

[Roll_Bones]

My wife has been slowly gravitating to a non-meat diet. She barely touches any meat I put on her plate.
However, she eats every single chicken wing minus one for the dog. (undressed)
So its looking more and more like meal preparations may become another chore.
I am finding a vegetarian diet is not nearly as easy as it might seem.

 

[CharlieD]

My wife has been slowly gravitating to a non-meat diet. She barely touches any meat I put on her plate.
However, she eats every single chicken wing minus one for the dog. (undressed)
So its looking more and more like meal preparations may become another chore.
I am finding a vegetarian diet is not nearly as easy as it might seem.

Not easy at all.

 

[larry_stewart]

The good thing is that due to what's available and the ease to get it ( internet), its a lot easier than it was 30 years ago.

Not only with the variety and availability, but the taste and consistency of some of the vegetarian substitutes have come a long way.

Even though it was and could be challenging, I actually enjoy the challenge of being creative with the new ingredients and rules I have to follow. Its almost like learning to cook all over again ( but starting with a decent set of skills, not as a rookie).

 

[Bitser]

Where did you find those pans? Love it.

The 2-part one is by Anolon. I think I ordered it direct from the company.

The 3-part pan is by NordicWare and was ordered from Lehman's online.

 

[CharlieD]

The good thing is that due to what's available and the ease to get it ( internet), its a lot easier than it was 30 years ago.

Not only with the variety and availability, but the taste and consistency of some of the vegetarian substitutes have come a long way.

Even though it was and could be challenging, I actually enjoy the challenge of being creative with the new ingredients and rules I have to follow. Its almost like learning to cook all over again ( but starting with a decent set of skills, not as a rookie).

Minnesota vegetables stink, well, not really. Mostly they are tasteless and smelless ( I know it's not a word, but that is the truth).

 

[blissful]

We don't eat meat/cheese/dairy/eggs/fish/chicken animal products. I just cleaned out the last of the meat in the downstairs freezer. I'm planning on unplugging it to save money. We have one omnivore and two whole food planted based eaters, so the omnivore would eat meat on occasion.

We had bear steaks, and deer backstraps and steaks. I cut them all thin, marinated them and dehydrated them for jerky yesterday and the day before. We're giving away most of that.



Cooking without added refined fat and animal products makes cleaning the kitchen so much easier and things stay so much cleaner too. The oven, the stove, the sinks, the walls and the dishes. So much easier.


I used to make pastries and pie crusts, cakes and frosting, decorated cakes, crispy fat laden cookies, fried food, fondue, deep fried food, chicken cordon blue, grilling and barbecues. I CAN do those things still, but I don't want to. I can bake or broil in the oven for slight browning, or make stews or soups, stir frys without frying, vegetable and fruit sauces and spreads, bake ww sprouted grain bread weekly, oatmeal cookies sweetened with just fruit, liberal use of spices and herbs. It's just as much fun and tastes as good.


If I need to cook for omnivores, I make our regular food, and just add meat/chicken/cheese/eggs to the side.

 

[Bitser]

She's not that strict: she asks for non-veg dinners once a week or so. She grew up Catholic, so we have fish every Friday: pure sentiment. We subscribe to a community-supported fishery in Sitka, Alaska, so the fish is really good.

 

[Lee Vining]

My wife switched to vegetarian same week as my smoker arrived.
Now's a good time to do that. Options galore.

I love these pans:

 

[bethzaring]

I have been a vegetarian a few times in my life, and my go-to cookbook is "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison.

https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-C...s&sprefix=Vegetarian+Cooking+f,aps,710&sr=1-2

 

[FrankZ]

My wife switched to vegetarian same week as my smoker arrived.
Now's a good time to do that. Options galore.

I love these pans:

What kind of smoker?

 

[Lee Vining]

What kind of smoker?

Redbox.

 

[Bitser]

Some of the vegie cheese is okay— the parmesan, mozzarella, and cream cheese so far. The cheddar is waxy doesn't melt very well.

Just made risotto, with garlic, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Soaked the tomatoes in white wine and used veg stock.

It was good.

 

[Vinylhanger]

That's easy. Smoked vegetables can be insanely good. Smoked vegetarian baked beans should be easy enough.

We do olive oil and brown sugar cauliflower for most smoked meals. Smoked romaine, smoked carrots, Brussels sprouts, etc. Squash, the list goes on.

Smoked mixed vegetables.

I could easily enjoy just vegetables on the smoker.

 

[Bitser]

If you can do cold smoking, you could smoke veggie cheese. I've had smoked veggie provolone on a sandwich.

 

[FrankZ]

Redbox.

Those look neato