I like my fake meat to have fake grisel...

My Great-Uncle once told me I was a "Meat and Potatoes Vegetarian" and while most vegetarians would take offense to this, I thought it was hilarious and well quite true. I really can't stand how people generalize vegetarians as being health-conscious-hippy-freaks-that-march-in-PETA- protests ( yes my parents did have an organic garden and made all my baby food, but thats beside the point).

I am considered a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian for all official purposes (I'm not here to school you so please visit the Wikipedia definition). I cannot imagine living without dairy and more specifically cheese! I've been a vegetarian for 17 years now and really have no intention of eating meat again anytime soon. Pushing my beliefs about vegetarianism has never been my spiel nor have I really ever considered joining any clubs related to the topic. For the most part I find PETA ridiculous because I'd rather give money to the children of the world who are dying of AIDS, being enslaved, live in war ridden countries, etc. than dogs and minks. I do appreciate the horribly gruesome videos they release of slaughterhouses and animal shelters though, because well, most people in this country have never even thought about how the food has gotten onto their table or why it is important to neuter/spay their pets!

I don't eat tofu everyday, in fact I only like tofu when it is smothered in spicy Asian sauces or deep fried and then dipped into spicy Asian sauces. I can't afford to only buy organic fruits and vegetables and I'm not entirely convinced that Genetically Modified produce is bad for you. I love going to restaurants and showing them that they could have a vegetarian option if they just say, excluded some unnecessary bacon in a creamy pasta dish. I love to try new restaurants even if I don't know for sure if they have a vegetarian option. Which brings us to why I'm even creating a blog. I don't really expect there to be lots of vegetarians like me, but there might be some veg-curious folk in cyberspace that want to know about my dining experiences. Worse case scenario: No one reads this, BUT I'm able to rant or rave about places I've gone to eat and fantastic (and sometimes craptastic) food I make.

Welcome to my FOOD blog!!