What won't you eat? ( Archived) (53)

I don't eat animal products, some grains, or some fruit and veg.

The reasons are a mixture of allergies, ethics and health.

And some things I just don't like: I'll only eat floury pulses like kidney beans cold in a salad because I don't like the texture of them when they're hot. I'll use a waxier broad bean in a veggie chilli. Not very traditional, I know, but I like them.

I realise this makes me the fussiest of fuss arses, but there are a lot of herbs, spices, vegetables and creativity in the world.

Mushrooms don't like me, but they're not flavourless. White button mushrooms are the mildest, but there are plenty of others like field, chestnut, or porcini (ceps) mushrooms which have a stronger flavour. If you griddle a dryer mushroom like the chestnut it can have a crispier texture, or blend them as a mushroom and red wine pâté you can avoid the rubbery texture.

Well, if we're going for labels:

Pescatarian - no meat
Vegetarian - no meat, or fish
Vegan - no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, waxed lemons, wool, silk, or leather clothes, animal testing, blah, blah.
Plant based diet - no animal products in the diet, but I'm not/can't afford to bin my favourite woolly jumper.

I disagree with you that people must stop eating all of a certain food stuff to achieve a proper label. I think people can eat what they damn well please.

The labels define the food, not the person.

It's also wise to alter diet gradually as radical changes can lead to all sorts of health issues.

The problem with insisting that people have the label rather than the food having it, is that it puts people off from eating more vegetarian, or vegan dishes. It's far more productive that people feel they can try and enjoy a veggie dish at their liberty, rather than being under the threat of the vegan police.

I don't eat pork.

liver and most seafood........I like mushrooms fried in butter and garlic powder.....yummmmm....

Have you ever tried growing your own garlic?

Get a bulb in late Autumn and break it up into cloves. Shove the cloves into the ground. I've grown them in shady, fairly damp places.

In the spring they come up like spring onions (scallions) and are called 'wet garlic' on this side of the pond. You can put them in anything including salads and sandwiches.

If you don't eat them all they'll produce a seed head which looks like a mini garlic bulb. It'll drop and give you another crop the next year.

Wet and wild garlic risotto is amazing, if you can find some wild garlic in the woods. It's illegal to pick wild flowers and plants over here, but I know a spot where the council strims them back on the edge of the woods and I get there before they do in the spring.

The flowers of chives, garlic chives and wild garlic are great for a flavourful, colourful garnish, too.