When I signed up to participate in Meat Free Week recently, I had no intention of becoming a vegetarian after the week finished.
Yet after one week without meat, I realised that I enjoyed being meat-free. What a 180-degree turn after 30 years of eating meat!
I felt more at peace with myself, and cooking vegetarian meals became a creative and fun exercise. In the days after Meat Free Week, my pork-loving self disappeared. The thought of eating meat made my stomach clench. I even had a dream in which I was physically ill after eating a steak. On the way to work one morning an image of crispy-skinned salmon cooked rare inside popped into my head. I thought to myself, ‘maybe I should just eat seafood…’. Then another image popped into my head, of a salmon dying by suffocation.
Yep, my imagination is usually dramatic.
On Sunday night I watched a 60 Minutes report on factory farming and free range chicken. The footage was incredibly upsetting, I bawled, and decided I didn’t want any part of it.
It has now been 17 days (not that I’m counting…) since I have eaten meat (that includes seafood), and my intention is to stay meat-free. Paul is still eating meat, but he’s also happy to eat vegetarian meals.
Becoming a vegetarian is a big decision, for someone who loves cooking and eating out, but it feels right. Plus Miss Piggy told me, ‘Don’t be scared. If you slip you slip…. just do your best.’. So that’s what I’m going to do!
Red Lentil Dahl
I’ve cooked this Red Lentil Dahl quite a few times since I first read it on The Hungry Australian’s blog. It’s easy to make, and quick to make too – even for a dawdler-cook like me. Plus, it tastes delicious – fragrant with spice, slightly sweet, and is filling and hearty.
Recipe by The Hungry Australian
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1.25 cup red lentils
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 x 3cm piece ginger, peeled and diced
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 can peeled tomatoes
- 2 cups hot water from the kettle
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
Method:
- Wash lentils in running water, discarding debris. Drain.
- Heat up large frypan until smoking hot and then add oil. [I used a large saucepan this time]
- Add onions, garlic and ginger and turn down to medium heat.
- Cook, stirring often, for few minutes until onion softens and then add turmeric, mixing in thoroughly.
- Continue cooking for a minute or so and then add lentils.
- Stir to combine and continue cooking for a minute before adding tomatoes, garam masala and water.
- Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes and then add salt and honey, mixing in thoroughly.
- Serve with steamed rice, pappodams and banana, yoghurt and honey raita. [I like to eat mine with brown rice, fresh coriander, and puppodums/ popadams/ poppadams...]
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