Foie Gras...it's a matter of choice

OK, I’m a fool to myself and I’ll probably wish I’d kept my mouth shut but here goes…

I saw a link to this news item from the Vegetarian Society on Twitter today and it really made me angry. It illustrates why I sometimes hate being labelled ‘a vegetarian’ and why I could never be a member of the Veg Soc. I just can’t stand their preaching and I really don’t want to be associated with it. Is it any wonder that omnivores complain about veggies always being so 'holier than thou' about not eating meat? 

 

Take this simplistic, naïve statement from the Veg Soc in the piece above, for example “The production of foie gras is unnecessary”. On the contrary, foie gras is entirely necessary for someone who wants to eat it. In these days of food being transported around the world, with strawberries and asparagus available in December, ‘necessity’ is beside the point – it’s about freedom and personal choice. Right now… do I ‘need’ a piece of coffee and walnut cake? No, of course not, but I’d damn well like some! Others may feel the same about foie gras.

I am obviously not in favour of animal cruelty but I’m also not afraid to face the unpalatable fact of life that animals are still seen as less important and more expendable than humans…this isn't going to change, ’twas ever thus. Animal cruelty will never be eradicated as long as there are living humans on this planet. While there is money to be made from selling an animal related item there will be people willing to buy said item. 

I can’t stop every instance of animal exploitation – I can only do what is right for me; but what I won't do is preach to others or tell them how to behave. If someone wants to eat a steak or foie gras or sea bass…go ahead, I hope you enjoy it. Just don’t ask me to join in.

A Pat on the Back

I just thought I’d give a pat on the back to Linda McCartney Foods for some excellent customer service.

I emailed them last year when their vegemince disappeared off the shelves, explaining that I really missed it and Quorn mince wasn’t a patch on theirs. (I actually said I wouldn’t give it to a dog!) They replied promptly; apparently there was some sort of a manufacturing problem which they hoped to get sorted by Christmas.

Lo and behold, just before Christmas they emailed again to say their vegemince was back in the shops and they’d like to send a small token of their appreciation for my patience. I was astonished to receive a very nice shopping voucher!

I like to give credit where it’s due, so “Well Done” Linda McCartney Foods from a very satisfied customer.

Emma Bridgewater China

Regular readers will have noticed that I use Emma Bridgewater ‘Toast’ china; I like it a lot and have spent a small fortune on it – just ask Mr Simply Veg!

I’ve noticed the glaze cracking on some of the pieces recently; I don’t put my china in the oven or on a hot hob so I can’t see why it’s happening. I don’t think this is acceptable and have contacted the company to see what they have to say. Surely mugs and plates should last longer than 2½ years?

I’m not expecting much joy from them to be honest – they’ll probably say it’s my fault for daring to serve hot food on a dinner plate or for putting hot coffee in a coffee mug!

Does anyone else have this china and this problem?  I’d be very interested to hear of your experiences.

At the company’s request I’ve sent back three mugs for them to inspect to see if they’re faulty. I suspect I know what their reply will be but, who knows, I could be pleasantly surprised; I’ll let you know when I hear anything.


Update 12.7.12

Well, I have finally received three new mugs to replace the three I returned. Getting the replacements was a bit like pulling teeth and involved an exchange of no fewer than fourteen emails and one phone call...! I could have walked to the factory in Stoke-on-Trent and back in the time it took.

Sadly, there was no replacement for the three dinner plates and four mugs which have already gone to the great china dump in the sky; it should also be noted that in the last week the glaze has started cracking on another two mugs. Hmmm…here we go again.

I won’t be chucking all my Toast china in the bin just yet and buying a whole new set but, when I do, it most certainly won’t be from Emma Bridgewater. Their customer service leaves a hell of a lot to be desired – I had the distinct impression that they were trying to stonewall me, hoping I’d give up and go away. They clearly don't know me. This particular china was not worth the money and, frankly, for an outlay of well over £1000 I expect better.

I won't ever buy another piece of Emma Bridgewater china - it looks nice but looks aren't everything.

Garden Fruit and Vegetables

I was reading this piece in The Telegraph this morning and I have to say the strawberry growers have my sympathy. Our vegetable plot this year is looking as sick as a dog. The weather we’ve had recently has been awful – it’s been incredibly wet but, sadly, very little warm weather to go with it.  

I don't think some of our crops will recover, to be honest; most of the carrot seeds haven’t germinated, the tomato plants look pathetic, the courgette plants aren’t putting on any weight at all and the peas and French beans are doing a good impression of ground cover, bless ‘em! It’s a proper tale of woe because the fruit trees are also a sorry sight – I can actually count the apples on the tree....there are eight! Hopefully, underground, the onions, beetroot and potatoes will be alright, although I’m feeling a bit nervous because I can’t keep an eye on them! One tiny ray of light has been the salad leaves – I picked the first of our lollo rosso and rocket a couple of days ago; keep going lads, we’re depending on you!  

When I think back to this time last year they were practically giving away soft fruits on the market – it was so cheap I was making jam like it was going out of fashion; no such luck this year yet, most of the soft fruits available at the moment are imported and therefore much more expensive. I'm still living in hope of a few decent English strawberries whilst I watch Andy Murray get beaten again at Wimbledon, though.

Astonishingly it’s the Summer Solstice next week, after which the days start getting shorter again and the nights start drawing in!  Aargghh...!!! We haven’t had any summer yet!

If you’re attempting to grow your own this year I really hope you’re having better luck than us; if it all suddenly bursts into life I’ll let you know, but I’m not holding my breath…

Simply Veggie Takes a Break

Well….it’s been quite a week! When I wrote the previous post about vegetarian drugs, little did I know what was coming next....and maybe that was just as well. Last Wednesday night I was taken into hospital by ambulance for emergency abdominal surgery; after a lot of bargaining, pleading, persuasion and promises to behave myself, they discharged me yesterday. I’m battered, bruised, scarred and as weak as a kitten but I’ll live to fight another day, thanks to a wonderful surgeon who should be canonised, in my opinion.

Whilst I was there they pumped me with anaesthetic, sedatives, antibiotics, anticoagulants, sundry other drugs and enough painkillers to fell an elephant; my hands and arms are covered in puncture marks like a street druggie. Were any of these wonderful concoctions veggie, do you suppose? Were they tested on animals? Does it make me a bad person because I didn’t ask and I don’t really care either way? Like I said before, we all have to make our own choices and do whatever we’re comfortable with. Quite honestly I’d have been happy to kiss the Devil on both cheeks if he’d said he could stop the pain….

On a more foodie note I was sent home with a diet sheet which looks like some sort of sick joke! I have to follow this ghastly diet for the next month or so before very gradually getting back to my high-fibre, veggie normality. Thankfully they didn’t ask me to go back to eating meat and fish, but they did say that following the diet is harder for a vegetarian. Gee, thanks!

So…I’m bowing out of Simply Veggie for a couple of months because I won’t be cooking anything that anyone would actually choose to eat! I hope to be back some time in May when normal service will hopefully be resumed.

See you soon....

Vegetarian Drugs

I’m going to have to stop reading health news items – they’re doing my blood pressure no good at all! Have a look at this. Shock, horror…some drugs are not vegetarian! Like we didn’t already know…

Frankly, I’m surprised at this comment from the Vegetarian Society – “Some vegetarians will be shocked to learn about the widespread use of animal ingredients in medicines” – they really ought to know better. Do they genuinely believe vegetarians, who think very carefully about everything they eat, are so stupid that they won't have thought about the implications of the ingredients in medication? Do they think we can't read or ask the Pharmacist for advice?

To be honest, I find the gelatine issue much less of a problem than the fact that pretty much every drug on the market has been tested on animals before it is let loose on humans, but I notice they don’t mention that.

Some veggies will choose not to take certain medication; some will take anything they need to for the sake of their health. There is no right or wrong answer here; all any of us can do is follow our own conscience and do whatever seems right for us.

Mind you, ridiculous headlines which just give others a chance to have a dig at veggies don’t help much. Grrrr!

Yummy....Not!

I’m sorry about this post, but it’s not the sort of thing I could just ignore. When I read it this morning, all I could think was “Why…for goodness sake, WHY...??”

You might want to eat your dinner before you have a look at this link. It really shouldn't be read on an empty stomach!

The gist of it is that some idiot scientist has managed to produce ‘synthetic meat’ in a lab. He seems to think that this is a more sustainable way of producing meat and may eventually help solve the problem of providing enough food for a rising world population.

Obviously, we all know that meat production is a very inefficient way of producing food, so why didn’t he just suggest that people stop eating meat and change to a more grain and vegetable based diet? Too difficult for him, huh?

“Professor Post's group at Maastricht University in the Netherlands has grown small pieces of muscle about 2cm long, 1cm wide and about a mm thick.

They are off-white and resemble strips of calamari in appearance. These strips will be mixed with blood and artificially grown fat to produce a hamburger by the autumn.”

Hell’s Bells! Now doesn’t that sound delicious...?!

I’ll tell you what, Professor Post; you eat your lab-grown, synthetic meat hamburger and I’ll just have a tofu, cashew nut and vegetable stir-fry, if it's all the same to you, thanks.

Why Are You Vegetarian?

I’ve been asked this (and variations of it) more times than I care to remember, even by complete strangers at corporate dinners!  I suspect if you asked 100 veggies the same question you’d get 100 different answers.

I usually give people a short answer: I just didn’t want to eat meat any more (the questioner usually takes this as a criticism of their own eating habits and generally starts to mutter about humans needing to eat meat!)

However, there’s a lengthy background to that short answer: I was always picky about what meats I would and wouldn’t eat; I would never eat fish on the bone and I wouldn't go anywhere near offal, veal or game of any description, then during the 1980s I stopped eating beef because of the first instances of CJD. Sometime in the early 1990s I was watching a magazine programme on TV where a veggie was putting forward reasons for not eating meat; unsurprisingly, she took a fair amount of stick from the studio audience and, completely exasperated, she finished by saying “I’m sure you wouldn’t eat your dog, so why do you find it OK to eat any other animal?” Bonnie, our much loved Cairn terrier (now sadly deceased) was asleep in her customary position on my lap at the time. She was my shaggy-coated shadow, my four-legged friend; I would no more have eaten her than I would have eaten my own leg.

The woman on TV had unknowingly struck a chord in my subconscious; I started to think a bit more about what I was eating and I set off on a train of completely stupid irrational behaviour…

I started by not eating any red meat, but chicken and fish were still alright; this led on to my not eating any meat I could identify, so e.g. a sausage was OK, but a roast chicken wasn't; I then had several months where I only ate meat that I could identify, so a roast chicken was OK but a sausage wasn’t! There was even a short period where I would cook a casserole or a curry for the rest of the family but I’d pick all the meat out of my portion and only eat the sauce!! Yes, I know, I know.…utterly pathetic!

Eventually, about two years after seeing that TV programme and after a lot of faffing about, I knew that all meat and fish had to go. I had one last omnivorous Christmas dinner, and that was the end of that...

I’ve never knowingly eaten meat or fish since Christmas Day 1995 and I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I do not and have never missed it. I’m completely at ease with my dietary choices and I never judge other people about what they eat, because it’s none of my damn business. It’d be nice if I was afforded the same courtesy, though.

So, in order to draw this rambling post to a close…..

Do I think vegetarianism is a good thing? Yes; for me, unequivocally.

Would I encourage anyone else to go veggie? No; absolutely not. Everyone should make their own decisions and eat whatever they’re comfortable with.

Will I ever go back to being an omnivore? Not a chance!

To Salt or Not to Salt...

Eagle eyed readers may have noticed that I don’t add salt to any of my recipes on here (with the exception of chutneys where I feel the flavour genuinely needs a bit of salt to counteract the sweetness) and I even use low-salt stock.

I firmly believe that if good quality food is cooked well, with appropriate herbs and spices, then salt will add nothing at all to the mix, but from the way TV cooks throw salt into every dish you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s impossible to cook a dish without it. All this baloney they come out with about ‘correcting the seasoning’; well, it might be correct for you, Michel/Nigel/James et al, but it tastes like the North Sea to me, sunshine!

I don't see this as a health issue – it’s all about taste for me. I don’t slavishly follow every edict from the health fascists, in fact I mostly ignore them; they’ll change the advice next week/month/year anyway, so what’s the point? Although I was diagnosed with hypertension a long time ago I was told very firmly that cutting out salt was not necessary; however, I thought it wouldn’t do me any harm to cut down a bit. Well, to my surprise, I found I preferred food without salt; I started to really taste food properly and realised that contrary to popular opinion salt doesn’t make food taste better…it makes it taste of salt!

What amazes me is the gullibility of people who buy ridiculously expensive so-called 'gourmet' salt which they believe to be somehow superior to common or garden table salt. It now seems they may be forced to eat their words liberally sprinkled with their fashionable designer salt, given that the chemical content of all salt is virtually the same. It’s very much a case of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ as far as I’m concerned, but no foodie worth their salt (sorry!) would dare to say so. Uttering such sacrilege would have them drummed out of the foodie clique…and that would never do.

Fat Tax?

I just wondered if you’d seen this in yesterday’s newspapers. I have to confess I don’t have a good word for any politician of any party; I think they’re all brainless, lying, self-serving idiots. I really feel, though, they've hit a new low here; this piece of nonsense just about takes the biscuit (low fat, of course!)

This isn’t about the nation’s health or the ‘obesity epidemic’, this is purely about bringing in tax revenue but, sadly, our esteemed Prime Minister doesn’t have the balls to say so. No-one’s denying that people are eating more and getting fatter, but taxation isn’t the answer, it never is, after all if taxation worked no-one would drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes (two nice little earners for the Exchequer!) and driving a car would be a definite no-no.

I don’t believe that any food is inherently unhealthy; I may have chosen not to eat meat or fish but I don’t think it’s an ‘unhealthy’ thing to do. Food of all types and descriptions is good for us – without it we’d die; to single out one type of food as ‘unhealthy’ seems simplistic and ill thought through to me.

True, some foods have more fat and calories than others, but that just means you have them in smaller portions than you might like, it doesn’t mean you have to stop eating them altogether. Having high fat and calories doesn’t make a food ‘bad’ nor does it make it ‘fattening’; anything, even lettuce, is fattening if you eat enough of it. It’s all about balance and moderation. Demonising certain foods whilst promoting others as ‘healthy’ seems deeply wrong to me and will never give people a better view of what constitutes a balanced diet.

The only way out of the current trend for people to become fatter and fatter is education; it’s not a quick fix – it’ll take time, money and commitment. Crucially, it won’t bring in any money through extra taxation which is why Cameron and his merry band of fools don’t want anything to do with it. Does he think I came down with the last shower?

Not Your Typical Veggie...

I bought a vegetarian magazine last week (it shall remain nameless to protect the innocent!) At first glance it was OK, lots of good recipes and, thankfully, no Parmesan but there were several quite gung-ho articles about sustainability, environmental issues and food miles as well as a few campaigns for this and that. It seemed to be assumed that all vegetarians were interested and in favour of these things; there was also a subliminal undertone of worthiness which really grated on me.   

Now, it could be said that I am a very strange person (it has been said before!) and not your typical veggie, but I make no apologies for saying I am not remotely interested in sustainability, environmental issues or food miles. In fact, if anyone starts on about these subjects, my eyes glaze over, my brain shuts down and I get an overwhelming urge to give the speaker/writer a poke in the eye.

I became a veggie because I don’t want to eat animals, no other reason, simple. My decision had nothing to do with where food is shipped from or the alleged effects of climate change; I didn’t consider farming practices or whether farmers get paid enough for their crops by the big supermarkets and I really don’t care about saving the planet because I think the planet will be just fine despite the puny, ineffectual efforts of the human race to destroy it.

When I buy a food magazine I don’t want to pay good money to read other people’s opinions which rarely tally with mine and are usually ill-thought out and simplistic. Rather than follow the diktat of environmentalists, food writers, brainless politicians and others who make a good living from haranguing the gullible, I prefer to think for myself and make up my own mind.

I did think of writing this to the magazine’s letters page but I suspect they’d think I’m some sort of crank for not going along with their party line. Oh, I do realise, by the way, that in reading this you too are reading someone else’s opinion, but at least you haven’t paid for it nor do I expect you to agree with me.

Rant mode off.

HFW Sees The Light!

Well, what do you know? Inveterate carnivore Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has had an epiphany; he’s seen the light and discovered the the joy of veg!

I'm sorry to say this, Hugh old son, but you’re a bit late to the party; those of us who can think for ourselves worked out long ago that chopping up animals for food, when there are less cruel and much tastier alternatives available, is a bad idea. What took you so long? Was it anything to do with a book deal, perhaps?

Don't you just love this quote from the article "I would love to persuade you to eat more vegetables." Now, if my memory serves me correctly, wasn't Hugh the bloke who slaughtered an animal on TV to entertain the watching masses... and now he wants me to eat more veg? Do go away, Hugh, there's a good chap; you're starting to get right up my nose. There's no-one quite so annoying as a newly-reformed evangelist preaching to the long-ago converted.

Of course, Hugh just wants to sell his new book and, once he’s made a rather large amount of money from it, he’ll revert to his former carnivorous ways. Then he can write another book extolling the virtues of meat-eating and telling us how desperately he wants us all to eat more of it….

Cynical…? Moi…? Whatever makes you think that?!

(Incidentally, I wouldn't want you to think I make a habit of reading that ridiculous rag, the Guardian; perish the very thought! I wouldn't have known about Hugh's conversion on the road to Damascus had it not been for a comment on a messageboard where I post.)

Is Parmesan Veggie...?

“No, of course it isn’t, don’t be so stupid!” I hear you cry. Quite clearly you’re well-informed, sensible and knowledgeable.

However, many people (including the food team at the BBC and the two Michelin-starred chefs whom I have recently emailed) are as thick as thick and still think Parmesan is a perfectly good vegetarian ingredient.

You and I know that Parmesan isn’t veggie, but what about the woman who goes to the BBC food site because for the first time ever she has to cook for a veggie guest? She thinks the BBC is a reliable, trustworthy source of information so she chooses a ‘vegetarian’ recipe plucked from the BBC’s pages; the poor veggie guest either has to eat it, so as not to cause offence or, more likely, he fills up on bread and salad and completely baffles his host by not even touching the carefully prepared ‘veggie’ dish he was presented with. His host, meanwhile, is left wondering “What did I do wrong? The BBC had marked the recipe ‘V’ – I was sure it would be OK”.

When I complained to the BBC recently about Simon Hopkinson, on the TV programme ‘The Good Cook’, describing Roast Fennel with Parmesan as "perfect, obviously for vegetarians” I received an email directing me to comment #74 on Simon's blog, by Ramona Andrews, BBC Food Host which I reproduce here for convenience:

“This is a good point about parmesan cheese. Traditional parmesan is always made with animal-derived rennet. There are, however, some vegetarian parmesan-style cheeses produced in the UK and for this reason, recipes calling for 'parmesan' are included as 'vegetarian' in BBC Food's recipe database.”

Now, if you can make any sense of that, then as my old Dad used to say, you’re a better man than me, Gunga-Din! Have you ever heard anything so lame and pathetic?

I’ll say it simply; in words of one syllable…..I don’t want meat in my cheese! Now surely that’s clear enough even for brainless chefs and the bewildered idiots at the BBC to understand?

Copyright Issues

On one of the food messageboards where I post there’s been a bit of a barney going on recently about copyright. Every so often someone posts a recipe, claiming it to be their own (which it clearly isn’t), and a bit of argy-bargy ensues; I don’t know why they do it – maybe they think no-one will notice? Anyway, it set me thinking; so I thought I’d write a few words in order to clarify things about copyright on here.

Any recipe written in full on this blog is my own and, as such, is copyrighted to me. All my recipes are either original creations or amalgamations of the best bits of half a dozen (or more!) other recipes which I have tweaked and changed to suit our taste. In former incarnations some of the recipes may even have contained meat or fish (!) which will have been dropped PDQ in favour of other more veggie-friendly ingredients. The new list of ingredients and method gets written up in my own words, at which point it becomes my recipe. When I use a recipe which is obviously written by someone else, such as Delia, Simon Rimmer, Nigel Slater, etc. I’ll give a link to where I found it published.

All photographs and recipes on this blog are copyrighted to me and may not be reproduced without my written permission.

Right, now that’s out of the way, I’m off to make some French Onion soup…

Eating Out

Do you eat in restaurants much? I'm sad to say we’ve almost given up on it; it’s just not worth the effort.

Is there a chef in the entire bloody country who knows that Parmesan is not veggie? I don't think so, judging by the look of the menus out there!

When I first went veggie I was under the mistaken impression that, although the eating out situation wasn’t great, things were bound to improve as time went on. Well, how wrong I was. Things are no better at all; you can still go into almost any mainstream restaurant and find the vegetarian ‘choice’ limited to one starter and one main course (both of which most likely include non-veggie cheese!) and as for wine - well, don't even ask!

I just don’t get why mainstream restaurants won’t offer more choice to veggies. Can they not understand that it is not only veggies who like to eat vegetarian food? Even confirmed omnivores will sometimes choose a veggie meal if it’s imaginative, tasty and well-presented. If they offered a good selection of vegetarian dishes, rather than the token ‘soup of the day’ and the tired ‘pasta bake’ that we usually get, their restaurant would appeal to more people and those same people would most probably eat at the restaurant more frequently; I know I would. Appealing to more punters would seem to be a sensible business move to me but, clearly, not to your average restaurateur.

It would be lovely if I lived in an area of the country where we had a selection of veggie eateries to choose from but, sadly, there is only one veggie café nearby. It’s a 'communal tables, knit your own yogurt, Jesus-sandal-wearing' type of establishment that really belongs back in the Hippy days of the 1960s; it’s not the kind of place I’m comfortable in.

If I was twenty years younger I would seriously consider starting up the kind of veggie restaurant that I’d like to eat in: medium-priced, nice surroundings, friendly professional staff and a competent innovative chef cooking a small selection of seasonally changing dishes (say...four starters, six mains and four puddings) with a good choice of veggie wines and cheeses....and no sign of a communal table!

In my dreams....

When is a Veggie NOT a Veggie?

You’d think that was a fairly easy question, wouldn’t you, but some people have real difficulty with it. The problem arises when people say “I’m a vegetarian” when they quite clearly aren’t; you know the sort….they sometimes eat fish, or bacon, or maybe even chicken!!!

The trouble is, these people who call themselves veggies really make things a lot harder for the rest of us. It’s still common to be offered fish as a ‘veggie’ option on a menu, but it isn’t too surprising when so many alleged veggies are quite happy to eat fish.

Here's a little anecdote to illustrate my point: Before I retired I used to work at a hospital, where you might think a chef would know something about diet. One day in the canteen the 'veggie' option was tuna pasta bake! I asked to speak to the chef who got quite shirty with me when I asked, innocently "What vegetable is a tuna, exactly?" I got just as shirty back and told him he was in the wrong job if he couldn't distinguish a fish from a vegetable!

Unbelievably, I recently saw someone on a food forum say “I don’t eat meat but I do eat fish and chicken”! I so wanted to reply “Fish and chicken ARE meat, you brainless cretin!” I didn’t, because I’m far too well-mannered, but oh, I wanted to!

So to end my rant, if you eat bacon, fish, chicken etc. that’s fine, it’s your life and your prerogative…I’m happy for you. But could you do the rest of us a favour and please stop calling yourself a bloody vegetarian?!

Thank you.


I've included this picture of peppers, just because it's cheerful and I like it.