Thursday, June 08, 2006

thanks, but no thanks

My mother is a wonderful person who has always been supportive of my vegetarianism. My mother is also a family doctor and so is concerned about her vegetarian daughters getting adequate iron, protein, b 12, etc. Now, I'm not a terribly picky eater. I don't eat any meat, and to me meat includes any animal, poultry, fish, seafood, I don't like mushrooms, and I don't like things that have raw eggs in them. Otherwise I'll eat pretty much anything. Whenever there is a family dinner the main dish is usually meat. I love side dishes and am perfectly happy to just eat them, the potatoes, the veggies, the yorkshire pudding . . . yummm . . . and not have any special vegetarian entree prepared for me. My mother, however, insists on making me something special every time I eat over there. Usually it's a lentil or bean based dish, and I'll usually scarf it down and if I don't Paul will finish it. Usually it's delicious.

Usually it isn't vegetarian haggis.

Enter the sister living abroad. Emily, when she comes home for the holidays usually brings an armload of tasty treats only available in England. Yummy vegetarian friendly Christmas puddings and the like from Marks and Spencer, gigantic chocolate bars, and this year past, a tin of vegetarian haggis. The haggis sat in the cupboard for, oh, five months or so untouched, and I peered at it curiously a few times, but my curiosity never got the point of actually opening the tin. Last weekend Buddy invited us over for dinner (via my dad) and we sat down for a meal of roast beef, veggies, and all the fixings. My mother placed the usual little dish of something special down beside me, and I peered at it, not entirely sure what it is. When I asked her, Mom replied that there was lentils and beans and other things in it, but I could tell she was holding something back. I peered a little further and asked again what it was, and she said, 'um, it came from a tin.' and I immediately knew that it was the haggis. Although there was no actual meat in the tin, and I am a big fan of all kinds of fake meats, other than one small spoonful, I just couldn't bring myself to eat it.

I mean, haggis? Come on.

Sorry Em.

2 comments:

Karyn said...

Vegetarian haggis? As a commercial product? Who came up with this? Who buys this? (besides your sister, who I'm sure had the best intentions).

I really think there are just some meat products that should not be made vegetarian. Haggis is one. Blood pudding would be another. Somehow, imitation pig's blood, just doesn't sounds one itty bitty bit more appetizing than the real thing.

Anonymous said...

That's hilarious. One step up from HuFu.