h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What better place to ask food-related questions than of my varied hootoo friends, both veggie and omni.

Among my non-meat-eating pals are those of you who don't eat meat but have no inherent aversion to the taste/texture/smell, etc beyond the ethical issues involved. Like me, for example: I grew up eating meat, so as a young child developed a sense of taste that included foods containing meat. However, when I got older and developed my own moral and ethical values, I could no longer bring myself to eat meat. But you know, sometimes a girl gets bored with all-vegetable dishes, and wants something that resembles some of her former favorites and familiar things.

I enjoy the familiar tastes and textures provided by many meat replacements. (Quron! vegan corn dogs! homemade seitan! tofu scramble! vegan lasagna! )

I can totally get why some veggies don't care for mock meats because they don't like the taste/texture/etc of the real thing. And that's cool.

But why do some omniverous people find it so strange that some of us do like them?

Can you tell I've just had lunch with a couple of trash-talking (and might I add nosey as hell) co-workers?

And hey- no preaching, anyone. We all know what we feel and why. I'm not a preachy veggie and neither do I think I'm super-demanding: when I'm somebody's guest I offer to, and frequently do, bring something along. When I last visited my grandmother, my uncle grilled hamburgers, and served potato salad with a mayo base. So I brought a box of veggie burgers and a fruit salad. They ate more fruit than I did.

(I'll admit, though, that when going to restaurants with K, with friends, or if I'm being treated, I will generally request a place likely to have more veggie-friendly options- which seems reasonable, no? 'Cause today, you'd think I'd committed a crime. And really, when asked why I don't eat meat, my stock answer is "because I don't care for it", period, PeTA membership notwithstanding. )

My niece and her husband have been vegetarian since before they married. They have three children, two are veggies, but the third stopped eating and would only eat meals with meat from the age of about two or three.

I have tasted some of her meat substitute meals and found them to be quite nice, although I couldn't guess at what they were meant to be substituting

Quorn is the bomb-daddy meat replacement to my mind, although I've yet to find a way to make it sticky enough to make kofta kebabs out of it I actually prefer the chicken one to actual chicken in some things, mainly very fatty, spicy things.

Sophie has tasted fish now. Although she insists it's okay only because fish is a drug not food. She keeps saying "I've done fish" It was bbq'd sweet chili prawn kebabs and also bbq'd sea bass with lemon, corriander, spring onions and rice She ate about a golf ball sized amount of each and was full for two days

I love the Quorn "chick'n". The cutlets especially.

Ooh, if you want to do kebabs, try making a batch of seitan. I can double check my recipe when I get home, but IIRC, it's:

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 cup cold water
a tablespoon of tomato paste
some lemon zest
2 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce/ liquid aminos


You could also substitute the soy sauce and lemon zest with whatever marinade you'd normally use for your kebab meat.

Mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl, and the flour and yeast flakes in another. Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and knead until it forms a solid ball. Let it rest in the bowl for 3-5 minutes. Then roll it into a log, cut the log into three sections, and place in a pan of cold water or veggie broth. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Voila! It holds up well to all kinds of marinades and sauces without falling apart.

Friday night I sliced some into cutlets, dredged in whole wheat flour, soymilk and bread crumbs, and fried in a bit of olive oil. Had them with steamed kale and quinoa.

It's also always nice to hear from onmiverous folks who don't mind the mock meats, either. K eats them all the time, since we don't ever have meat in the house (he does get himself some real cheese and I get soy, but when I cook cheesy things I just use the soy).

Pc, I'll definitely try that, assuming I can find the ingredients. I looked everywhere for seitan here but couldn't find anything. I wonder if future generations of chinese supermarket owners will tell the story about the ghost of a ginger bearded man who stalks round the shop peering at labels then suddenly vanishes, without buying a thing!

As you may know I was veggie from about 1985 to when I was pregnant with #2 when I finally finally gave in to my nemesis: filet steak (none of yer bacon buttie rubbish for me!)

Which is so expensive I don't get much of it. I like filet because there is no fat and no gristle, which when I look at the bottom line is absolutely the worst thing about meat (if you turn aside from intensive farming methods)

I prefer to eat more fruit & veg than meat because it makes me feel heavy when I run - and I get constipated. Then when I run it all squishes down and makes me run all the way to the loo. (sorry... that's pretty graphic)

So, we try to by organic or at least "ethically" farmed meat - but we also eat gummi bears and things so I'm nowhere near as strict as I was before.

I love Quorn - it doesn't overfill you, it's low fat (no fat until you put fat in to cook it, I believe) and high protein. It's not expensive and - biggest thing for me: no fat and no gristle.

But I have to go to Holland to get it (no huge deal - it's only 20km away)

I'm not a huge fan of tofu - although since I started regularly eating Korean food just over 8 years ago () I have discovered that it's really not too bad at all.

Did that answer any questions?

My spiritual goal is to reincarnate as a premier Japanese beef cow. They feed you with beer, to distribute the fat evenly amongst the meat, and massage you with big brushes. Ahhh!

Thanks, Sho! That was very helpful. It's useful to know that not all non-veggies think mock meats are .

One of the people I had lunch with today actually called me a hypocrite and told me if I really disliked farming practices, animal slaughter, etc, then mock meat should disgust me, too. That seems a bit weird and extreme.

a_a_e, our local Whole Foods sells ready made seitan in the same section where they keep the tofu and similar products. The pre-packaged stuff costs around $3.50. A bag of vital wheat gluten costs $5.50 at the same store and makes at least ten times as much seitan as what's in a single package. So I don't buy the ready-made stuff anymore and make a batch from scratch every other weekend.

If you're planning a "meat loaf" type thing, you can substitute 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the gluten, and you'll get a different texture.

Vital wheat gluten should be available at any health food or whole foods store, and around here even many regular grocery chains have it. It's usually in the baking aisle with the other flours.

Oh, and running while constipated would be the absolute worst!!

At my birthday party, I'd made mock meatballs to go with the pasta salad we were having - my usual recipe, nuts, lentils, soy, oats, breadcrumbs, egg, veggies, tomato paste, a few spices and onions.

They were all eating them - until the other vegetarian asked whether they were safe. I said "Yes, no meat" - and one guy actually spit his out


But I won't be much help, I'm one of those "Never liked meat so why bother" vegetarians.

Meat has the opposite effect on me than it does on Sho, though

It's been so long since I've had any, it'd most likely have the same effect on me as you Mala.

While I definitely appreciate the "never liked it so why bother" position- it's why I never eat mock ham, bacon or sausage; cured meats always disgusted me- I'm more curious as to why meat eaters wouldn't appreciate why a vegetarian might like mock meats- it's usually for the same reason, no?

And I too have had someone spit out something I'd made- I think it was a mock meat loaf. Last year I passed off mock Swedish meatballs for our after-Xmas shindig, and no one even noticed they weren't real meat. If you can't tell the difference, what about it makes it so repulsive?

I'm genuinely curious here. Hoping for enlightenment.

Mala, I'm interested in the recipe for your non-meatballs. Any chance to get us away from chicken (all #2 will eat, meat-wise) is good. Mind you, #1 has asked for steak and roasted veggies this weekend.

Last week it was salmon... the weekend just gone it was tacos (she loves refried beans and Guacamole, which she makes herself)

We have a rather fab recipe for veggie scotch eggs which I really must make again, they are great for lunchboxes.

PC - are you vegan? I can't make the jump to give up cheese, although I'd have much better control of my weight if I did. And we eat about 20 gallons (ok 3 or 4 litres) of home-made yoghurt a week.

As the Gruesomes are getting older they are beginning to question farming methods. We live in a rural, but mainly crpüs rather than animal farms, but even so they see animals all around and worry about eating them.

So we're trying not to buy cheapo rubbish - but it's difficult because we're not that rich. We've agreed never ever to eat anything other than free-range eggs though. And I think by the time they're older teenagers, is going to be in the carnivorous minority here.

Btw, when I was veggie, he was veggie at home and mostly veggie when we went out. But he ate meat at work. It worked for both of us.

Heck of yoghurt!

I'll eat pretty much anything but I think that mock meats are nice but not because they are good imitations of meat, I think they are nice in their own right and primarily in the textures and chewinesses they provide that you don't get from much other vegetarian stuff. I think the offended meat eaters see them as a con in some way and maybe see vegetarianism as some kind of affront or insult if the aren't sure on the morals/ethics of the issue and seize upon the mock meats as a way to vindicate themselves. Also, there is probably some ridiculous idea that being a vegetarian is in some way a bit girlie or hippie esq in some people's minds, and they wouldn't want to be seen to be linked to that.

part of me, as a veggie (because deep down I are one) thinks "mock meat! just say no!" on the other hand, they are a great source of protein and if they taste nice... well, they're something else nice to eat.

I used to love the Quorn "chicken" & mushroom pies my mum used to get me from Sainsbury's

I'm not sure I can quite call myself vegan yet, since it's only since around the beginning of this year I've phased out animal proteins, and I didn't quit cheese or milk cold turkey. But I'll make this my informal announcement of sorts that I've given up animal protein including cheese.

Since I didn't kick the topic off to gross people out about what they eat I didn't want to get into it too much, but I do have issues with factory farming and vivisection, etc, but I'd been all right with vegetarian cheese (no animal rennet) or vegetarian cage-free eggs (free range chickens not fed any animal by-product). But for various health reasons in addition to my original position, I'm getting rid of animal proteins altogether.

Yes, it's the nice tasting source of (non-animal) protein that does it for me. Sometimes I like to eat a meal entirely of veggies- chili, soups and stews especially- but I really do like the other stuff too.

Tofu took some getting used to. It was actually the first meat substitute I tried. Though I don't usually use tofu as a meat substitute but rather as something entirely different in its own right. It's mainly something I use in place of soft or crumbled cheese or scrambled egg. Or in sukiyaki or miso soup.

>Btw, when I was veggie, he was veggie at home and mostly veggie when we went out. But he ate meat at work. It worked for both of us.<

Sounds like K and me. Except when we order in, then he sometimes gets some chicken at home.

It's worked for us, too. Unless you count the late-night sneaking off through the drive through for a burger binge and his resulting kidney stones.

In the daytime I'm Mister Natural, just as healthy as I can be, but at night I'm a junk food junkie, good Lord have pity on me