Vegan Month of Food!!!!

October is Vegan Month of Food and Vegetarian Appreciation Month. Yup, veggies get a whole month to be appreciated. First off, I'm not a vegan. I'm vegetarian. I tried being vegan for a few weeks...mostly those few weeks when I ran out of money and couldn't afford the $5 eggs from the Farmers Markets or the fancy imported cheeses. Mostly vegetarian, really. Except for fish. Pescatarian really. Technically. If anyone is keeping track of these things.

So, it all started 17 years ago, and I was 20. I was sitting in the backseat of a rented Renault station wagon with my sisters, in Sicily, coming back after spending the whole day with a great-great-great aunt who lives on a farm in Catania somewhere. She gave us this little gift to take back to the small town we were staying at...a little chicken. A LIVE little chicken...sitting in a box...next to me. Well, the drive was long and me and the chicken had some time to talk, to chat if you will. I did most of the talking, and she just looked over her box and nodded up and down at me, understanding every word I was saying. We bonded. Oh yeah, we definitely bonded. I pet her waddle - I'm sure of it.

You can probably tell where this story is going - we had her for dinner. My little friend who loved me unconditionally (ok, so she had no choice, she was stuck in a box. But really, I think if she had the option she would have stayed and listened...we were that close). I was appalled. I was eating her thigh, her breast, her little body. Everyone around the table just giggled at me.

Well, I'll show them! From that point on, I decided that I would not eat my friends any more. I just couldn't do it, it wouldn't feel right. That, and the fact that I never really liked the taste/texture of meat and I used to sit for hours at the kitchen table until every last bit of it was swallowed because that's what you do when you're a kid living with Sicilian immigrants - eat everything in front of you even if it makes you want to puke it all up later, or feed it to the dog, or hide it all in your napkin. The time was now...I was out of the house and my parents couldn't tell me what to eat anymore. They did, however, trick me into eating horse(!!) that fateful trip in Sicily, summer of 1992. Final straw, indeed!

But, I digress. This month, October, I'm going to commit to writing daily, even if it's just a little, about something vegan...ish. Not sure what exactly. I'm thinking - Vegan Gardening. Don't laugh. I think I can make it work. Especially now that Fall in the desert is here, I'm ready to get out in the garden and transform it. Maybe I'll write about the chicken coop I'm making (ok, I'm technically not making it...I got my friend Chris to do all the work...I'm delegating). The chicken coop is vegan...the eggs aren't. But the eggs will come AFTER October, so I'm safe.

Comments

luke and pamela said…
i'm so looking forward to your vegan posts!

also, i want to hear more about your chickens. we have been dreaming about having some. :)
September 23, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Nerina, with love

Image
Dear Nerina, I want to take this time to tell you how much you have meant to me these past (almost) 15 years.   Knowing you has been a gift that I will cherish forever.  It seems you came into my life knowing that I needed you alongside me - guiding me, supporting me, giving me love and loyalty, showing me strength and compassion, and just being a true companion each and every day.  From the beginning, I knew we were meant to be together, and that you chose me as your life partner... Sunday, April 14, 1996 - the eve of your arrival -  I had just returned from living in Ann Arbor for 2 years, studying and living in an incredible place.  I remember being pretty depressed after finding out that I couldn't move out of my parents house and my partner decided not to follow me to Arizona.  My depression kept me in bed for days, not able to eat, with no energy.  That afternoon, I remember looking in the classified ads for puppies.  I thought that was just what I needed to distrac
Read more

Summer Vacation 2008

Image
Even though it's only mid-July, my summer is officially over. I went back to work this week after having the past 6 weeks off. For those of you who work in schools, this is just way too short. For everyone else, don't be jealous! The first 3 weeks was spent in the desert in Southern Arizona and in Tucson. I spent half of my time at the desert aid camp, helping to coordinate the volunteers coming down to help with the humanitarian aid work. Here's an e-mail I sent to a friend when I came back from the desert: "Just got back yesterday from being in Arivaca this week. It's hot! And also incredibly sad and tiring stuff. I feel good about being out there, though. It makes all that we do worthwhile knowing that the work is reaching people. I met a man from Guatemala who was lost for a week, just wandering and walking North, separated from his group by Border Patrol. The only thing that kept him walking all week was his 2 year old daughter currently living
Read more

My Wedding Day...

Image
I suppose most brides would say their wedding day was the most amazing day of their lives.  But, for me, I mean it .  This day came not without stress, anxiety, tears and disappointment; but despite all of it, it was the most remarkable gathering of people in one place.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  I couldn't have imagined it would turn out better than I thought.  I should start from the beginning.  Well, the beginning of the week, at least. It started with a phone call from my grandmother saying she couldn't come to my wedding, despite the fact that she was visiting from Chicago.  It appears that my father has more influence and can invoke more fear in people than I thought.   My mom also confirmed that she, too, could not make it.  My aunt from Chicago had also planned to visit, along with her 3 children, but soon discovered what it means to be on my father's bad side.  Turns out, he found out she was coming and threatened her (and anyone else even thinkin
Read more