Day 26 - My Choice

Today, it's been exactly 6 months and 1 day since I stopped eating meat.

Honestly, I thought it was going to be harder than this. Not particularly because I would miss eating dead animals (although I do have to confess I miss chorizo but you can’t find proper chorizo in France anyway so it’s no biggie) but mostly because as hubby loves to point out: I’m a quitter. I’ll get all hyped up about something and give it 120% the first few weeks and then I’ll suddenly loose interest and drop it like a hot potato.

But somehow this has become really important to me. And the fact that 6 months (and a day!) have gone by without me noticing it, is proof.

I’m not going to lie and say it’s all been peachy. First off is hubby, who’s been quite a good sport adapting to this new lifestyle. Since hell will freeze before he gives up meat, I know it’s been hard on him (a self proclaimed proper gourmand) to have to accept the fact that if he wants to eat such French delicacies like confit de canard or Quiche Lorraine he better cook for one. And yet, he’s become incredibly supportive. He now makes sure to think up diner menus that not only don’t include meat but are still creative and delicious (something, which as a French, he used to think was impossible to find in vegetarian cuisine). He’s accepted the fact that tofu is here to stay and even agrees to try out other "weird looking crap" like tempeh and sea-weed….

Then there is the whole conception of being Vegetarian for the French. Correct me if I’m wrong but the word Vegetarian comes from the root word: VEGETABLE, right???? Does anyone else see the words FISH or TUNA or SEAFOOD in it? Didn’t think so. And no, it’s not a translation problem: being a végétarienne in France somehow means not eating pork or beef or veal BUT it being OK to eat tuna or salmon or shrimp. I’m no longer shocked when I ask for a vegetarian sandwich and am offered “tuna and raw veggies”. Or when I say no meat on my pizza please and they ask if I’d like anchovies on it instead.

Yet, the hardest part of it has been having to explain this sudden change to friends that have known me pre-Jan 1st decision. All of our friends have been really nice about it, but in a country where meat is still considered the primary star of the dish (and the one around which the entire meal often revolves >> choice of wine, of desert, of cheese) it’s not always easy for people to understand that you’re quite happy eating the side salad as your main course. You see food is SUCH a big issue here. When someone invites you to diner it is quite possible that person spent a great deal of time in the preparation: from the planning of the menu, to the meticulous selection and shopping of the ingredients, to the careful preparation and presentation at the table. I try to subtly let them know before hand that I’m “off meat” (otherwise it’s even worse since “picking stuff off your plate and laying them on hubby’s” is a grave offense to any host) but this only adds an element of stress to the planning that I wish I could avoid. No matter how much I try to explain that it’s not necessary for them to go through any extra trouble (specially since thank heavens French cuisine always includes a side vegetable dish and/or a salad), the hosts feels a pressure to prepare something as equally elaborate just for me to serve along with the original diner the others will be eating.

Slowly, but surely though our entourage has digested this new Fned and although I still flush with embarrassment when they announce the “extra dish they prepared specially for me” I am happy to report that these six months (and a day) have been a piece of cake. ;)

Fned.