How I became a veggie cook...

When I was young I SO NEVER ate vegetables.  Why? My mother (god bless her today and always) grew up during WWII, a time where the only meat available on the island came from animals which were very, very low down the food chain and which certainly would not feature on a healthy food pyramid today.  Many, many years later, when she started having kids of her own, her instincts told her to stuff as much meat as possible down their throats, because she had gone without, and god forbid any kid of hers would have to go without too.  It didn't really mattar what kind of meat or which part of the animal it came from really: as long as it was once a living creature, it was good enough for HER little creatures.  She couldn't even prepare a vegetable without stuffing it with mince, ham or corned beef.

Many years later, I realised that vegetables had a scope in life (apart from appearing colourful and pretty on green-grocers' shelves).  They were good for you, so full of lovely minerals and vitamins. AND they were low in fat, too.  In my 18 year old mind's eye, vegetables were a great way to keep down the weight. In fact it was around this time that I started experimenting in the kitchen, and my transition from carnivorous to vegetarian unwittingly started...

I still ate meat especially when I went out with friends (if burgers and hot dogs can be classified as meat - oh the joy of being 18 and totally clueless!) and naturally had meat on Sundays with the family.  However when I did cook, it was vegetables, mostly.  Around this time I also bought my first cook book - Carmen Tedesco - which although was a mixed bag of recipes, they were all healthy and with a heavy emphasis on vegetables.

The crunch came four years later when I started dating my husband.  I had known him for some years prior to dating so I was aware that he was a vegetarian. Up to then I sort of thought that vegetarians could, if they felt like, enjoy a piece of chicken or fish once in a while. My husband swiftly informed me that vegetarianism is not a whim that people can drop in or out of:  it's a way of life, and once you decide to become a vegetarian, well, it's for life.  

I tried to be a vegetarian myself for a while however it didn't fully work out at the time. So by the time we got married two years later, I had developed a system whereby I cooked vegetarian meals 7 times out of 10, whilst allowing myself fish and very occasionally chicken.  The system worked well and I find myself craving meat less and less these days (except for fish: I don't think I could survive without fish).  This is also party due to the fact that meat substitues these days are not only easier to find in supermarkets and health food shops but also the taste has drastically improved; and therefore I find myself going for the substitutes as well (and save myself cooking an extra dish just for myself too).

Throughout the years I also learned important things about the nutritional value of food, and essential foodstuffs that a vegetarian cook must always keep in his or her cupboards.  Staples include lentils (for iron) nuts (essential fats and proteins) and soya (not that I drink it neat myself, but it's a good nutritious substitute for milk).  For I am not a vegetarian, my husband is. I just pride myself in being a veggie cook.