Fit Fare

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my first week’s experience eating a vegan diet. In that installment I talked about breaking the faith, so to speak, by eating two tablespoons of Italian tuna on day seven. Despite the great pleasure I had eating that meager amount, I didn’t go on a tuna eating jag. Instead, I went back to eating a vegan diet for the second week.

My second week was quite similar to the first week. I continued to eat the kind of foods that were comforting to me, rather than seek out recipes with ingredients I’m not crazy about, such as tofu or tempeh. I felt that those types of foods would be better accepted if incorporated gradually into my meals, if I stayed with vegan eating. So, I stuck with the kind of rice and bean dishes I grew up eating. All my meals were delicious, particularly a black bean patty that I prepared for the first time.

Quite a few people told me they couldn’t imagine eating vegan for two days, much less two weeks. Over-all, I didn’t find the experience horrific, but as time went by I found myself a bit stymied by a few things. I didn’t have longings for steaks or chicken. Instead, I found myself feeling deprived because I couldn’t eat yogurt or sprinkle real cheese on my pasta. Some of this was probably due to my taking the all or nothing approach to suddenly eating vegan. Instead of gradually cutting out a few things at a time, I had jettisoned a great many of my favorite foods all at once.

And the coffee issue continued to be a huge problem for me, so much so I became annoyed at myself. Why was I so attached to cow’s milk in my coffee? I tried several different soy products as a replacement and found them all unpleasant. Fortunately, I discovered other vegans who had the same problem and assured me I wasn’t a wimp for disliking soy milk in my coffee. I found enormous support from vegans, all of them offering good advice.

When I researched vegan eating, a gradual transition to eating vegan was usually recommended as the best method, and I heartily agree. Food is such a basic, personal force in our lives, it’s hard to quit years of eating patterns overnight. Years ago I took a class taught by a noted anthropologist, famous for her work done in some of the most remote areas of the world, often without benefit of indoor plumbing or other modern conveniences. One of the students in the class asked her to describe the toughest part of the job. Without missing a beat, she replied, “food” and went on to describe how hard it was for anthropologists to give up their food preferences and eat only the foods of whatever culture they were studying. After-all, isn’t the hardest test on many reality shows when people are asked to eat food they hate?

Except for soy milk, I didn’t hate the food I ate. And I learned new ways to cook. For instance, brown rice cooked in rice milk tastes marvelous. But, I missed fish, cheese, and eggs very much. In the middle of the second week, I was actually a little depressed by the coffee issue. It seemed a lousy way to start the day.

I did have another lapse. On the twelfth day, I ate a scone at a restaurant famous for them. And it was wonderful. But, I give myself credit for not ordering the bacon and eggs breakfast that was so tempting. After that, I went back to eating vegan until two days later when the two weeks were over.

Some of my friends expected me to order a steak or a hamburger and go on a huge orgy of eating meat. I had no desire to do that. My first non-vegan meal was a marvelous red snapper curry from a local restaurant. I still haven’t had a steak or other red meat. Several of my meals have been vegetarian and I expect that I will continue to cook meatless meals several times a week.

I know that I will fix one particular dish again. My favorite vegan dish was a very simple pilaf made with fresh tomatoes and chickpeas. I craved it and would have eaten it every day if I dared. The sweet, freshly harvested tomatoes, meaty chickpeas, and soft rice were delicious and comforting to me. If you have fresh tomatoes, use them in this recipe. But, canned tomatoes and chickpeas work well too.

Chickpea And Tomato Pilaf (Deborah Madison, The Savory Way)
4 Servings

2 to 4 Tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, minced
3 thyme branches, or a pinch of dried
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped fine, or 1 15 oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15 oz can. rinsed
2 cups water, vegetable stock, or bean broth
1 cup long grain white rice
salt
freshly ground pepper

Melt butter, along with the bay leaf, thyme and garlic, in a big pan over medium heat. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook until the tomatoes have cooked down to a thick paste, about 20 minutes.

Add two cups of the liquid to the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add the rice, stir, then cover and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat and cook until the liquid has been absorbed into the rice, about 20 minutes. Once the liquid has been absorbed, Remove from the heat and place a clean, folded cloth on top of the rice and cover with the lid. Let rest this way for 30 minutes. Then remove cover and cloth, fluff with a fork and serve.