Salty skin II

I watched a documentary called The Cove a few nights ago, about the annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. It's really about more than just that, and definitely worth watching. But be prepared to get gripped by - the world has so many problems - anxiety, which I get pretty regularly when thinking about war, politics, poverty, or just where all our rubbish goes. Anyway, because The Cove is all about the abuse and exploitation of animals, I was inspired write an update on my earlier post about the meat/no meat conundrum.

Basically, I became a vegetarian, and have been for about three months now.  It's been surprisingly easy, I crave meat now and then but that's balanced by the fact that I've generally become a more exciting eater. The restaurant experience is completely different: I used to head straight for the chicken (even kebabs), yip - a poultry loyalist. But now, my options are whittled down to a teeny tiny list most of the time, which is great, there's no fussing about and everything's usually delicious. Or in some cases (Bouchon, Soto) I just order the one thing on the menu I can.

Cooking at home's become a little more creative too. I've tried and tested a whole lot of different meals and food, some good: marinated tofu. Some not: vegetarian burger patties (taste like earth). 

And of course, like every change, it has it's challenges:

-Trying not to get too defensive or too preachy when quizzed on it.

-Feeling guilty about still loving leather

-Wondering whether your friends are disappointed when you present them with a vegetarian dinner.

But at the end of the day, getting your meal served first on a long distance flight - can't argue with that.

xx