Becoming a BBQ Vegetarian

If it's charred, it tastes like it had a pulse


I can’t imagine being a vegetarian– I love eating meat too much. But I say that the same way that any addict says they love their fix. Eating meat is as much habitual as it is nutritional, and I’m taking an overdue look at my eating habits.

This is all prompted from a video I watched on TED.com presented by Mark Bittman about how meat production adversely affects the world. It’s not a political or moral polemic, it’s just a scientific look at how things would be better if we’d eat less meat.

I know that I like to BBQ, and I do enjoy how some BBQ’ed vegetables taste, so I’ve decided to spend a week trying to eat vegetarian via my BBQ.

After some quick Googling, I picked out a half-dozen recipes and bought all the ingredients. It was the most vegetables I’d ever bought at one time. Tonight I made mediterranean grilled vegetable sandwiches with grilled asparagus and prosciutto with orange mayonnaise (pictured above).

Ed’s Note: Day 1: fail to understand definition of “vegetarian.”

The verdict? The asparagus was delicious, but the mayo was a bit fatty and overwhelming. The sandwich was much more bland than I’d expected– some fresh basil will spice it up– and I need to use a roll, or simple split bun instead of slicing the french bread diagonally (which lets the juices leak out, and shreds the roof of your mouth). In fact, the sandwich was so bland, I had to have another to be sure.

I also really underestimated the portions. When the recipe says “serves 4,” it’s not like how a pack of Kraft Dinner, or a large steak can serve 4. I couldn’t have eaten another bite, and I have at least two full portions of everything left over.

Funny thing: a little while after dinner, I had an orange. It was fantastic. Then I had an almost nervous tic for some chocolate; I had a brownie in the fridge given to me by a student, but after a couple of bites, I felt kind of grossed out and couldn’t finish it.

Yes, that worries me too.

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  1. #1 by Samir Chokshi - July 13th, 2008 at 22:10

    Hey Josh,
    Guess who…its me SAMIR! (Your old student from 2 years ago…I hope you didnt forget me! lol jks). Just to let you know, its actually really easy to be a vegetarian. I used to eat meat regularly until when I was about 8 years old. I have never touched since then. So I have been a vegetarian for about 12 years now. But you know, I tend to eat too much bread i think (which is not good..I think thats one fault I get for being a veg). Btw, my Summer class is super-easy! Thanx for help with the Spring course. I will contact you again in September 2008! Takecare.

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