Vegetarians unite

A short while ago, I stepped into the employee kitchen on our floor to fill my drinking cup with filtered water and I overheard a snippet of discussion among three colleagues. They were talking about diet, a common conversational thread with people hanging out in the kitchen around the lunch hour. But this particular conversation resonated with me because one of my colleagues has apparently switched to a vegetarian diet recently. She indicated, and I quote, “I didn’t realize that I had so many options being vegetarian.”

She’s right.

I’ve been a vegetarian since 1988. A long freaking time. Plenty of people have asked me just what I eat, because they honestly don’t know, other than salad, steamed broccoli or stewed tofu. When I list some common foods that are, or can be prepared in a vegetarian style, then they start to realize it’s not a huge hardship. Some even indicate, given this new information, that they could probably adopt a vegetarian diet, at least a few days per week.

And they’re probably right.

It’s not my mission in life to convert anyone. What you eat is an individual decision. I’ve made mine. However, in our home, I only prepare vegetarian food and if guests join us for a meal, I serve them vegetarian fare as well. I’ve not heard any complaints.

For our wedding, Cristy and I handled the catering. We prepared a whole lot of food, mostly because we don’t have any experience catering and WAY over-estimated food volumes. However, everyone got a plate of something and we heard plenty of remarks about the great tasting food.

This was the menu for our savory table:

Roasted veggie wraps – Portobello mushroom, red & green bell pepper, onion and goat cheese
Aromatic rice salad with green peas
Sun-dried tomato pesto with fresh bread
Fresh corn, edamame and mango salad
Pine-nut veggie squares
Farfalle pasta tossed with basil pesto

We took care to set a very attractive table and garnish the serving bowls with a pretty flourish, but the flavor of the food had its own appeal.