General Forum - RE: Come dine with me... - Page 4

Quote:
NO they are not.

Oh wise up.
Go take a poll of 100 people.
Ask them "Do you expect Lasagne to contain meat, unless otherwise stated"
I guarantee the vast majority will say yes.

Idiot.

You see, Paull, you are missing my point. Never have I said that a veggie meal cannot or does not taste better than a meat bearing one. I have also stated that I enjoy many non-meat meals.
I am not saying your lasagne isn't the greatest in the world, it may well be and may well taste a million times better than any meat one I have ever eaten.

What I am saying is, for better or worse, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN THE TASTE OF MEALS WITH MEAT FROM ONES WITHOUT MEAT.

Take note of the use of the word "DIFFERENT". Not better, not worse but "DIFFERENT".
Not meat ones are better, not your veggie meals are crap, not meat meals rulez ok, not meat is healthier than veg...

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Could someone please
Remove these cutleries
From my knees...

Mister Smee.

I understand your point, but apart from a Steak or mixed grill most of the best meals we eat & enjoy are peasant food. Lasagne, Pizza, enchilada, Curry and so on all started off with the cheapest & worst scraps of meat etc. In order to give flavour spices etc were added that over came any meat taste, it had to. Thats why a good veggy or meat lasagne or almost any other of our favourite foods taste the same, IF CARE IS TAKEN IN THE COOKING..

This item was edited on Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 10:51

Meat also involves texture as well as taste though.

Well, publish that recipe so we can have a go please.

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Could someone please
Remove these cutleries
From my knees...

Quote:
In order to give flavour spices etc were added that over came any meat taste, it had to.

That's rubbish.
Spices were added to get over the taste of bad meat.
Not the taste of meat, full stop, which is what you're suggesting.
This was because preservation was a problem, or the quality of the meat itself was poor.
Note they kept the meat in though, for the protein, rather than just doinfg without it.
As time has progressed, the quality of the meat has improved but our taste for the spices has remained.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 11:25

Afternoon all,

I thoughty i'd add my tuppence...

I eat meat, i love meat but I'm actaullly pro-vegetarian based on the Hindu/Indian priciples of consciousness and morality.

I dont believe we actually need to eat meat if we dont have to - humans can survive perfectly normally without eating meat and there are plenty of vegetarian protein alternatives (natural ones, not like quorn and crap) The other things is we dont actaully need to eat that much protein.

Now the other thing that makes me laugh is the western attitude to vegetarianism - that you have to be a tree hugging hippy because you dont want to eat animal flesh. Again, coming from an Indian, Gujarati background (as i suspect Ravi does too) most of my family are vegetarian and i simply dont miss meat if i dont eat it, its just a non-issue really. Theres a kind of mutual respect for veg/non veg food.

The problem is for most Brits (and i mean that quite specifically) is that they simply dont know what to do with vegetables, lentils, herbs, spices and flours. Because it takes that much more effort to prepare a vegatarian meal than just bunging a slab of meat in a pan - you just end up boiling it, which in anyones book is a bit pants and thus gives vegetarian food a bad rep. Even the spanish, italians french etc have far more respect for vegetables than Brits do.

Did anyone see Gordon Ramsey in india? He eventaully called a 'truce' with vegatarians after realising that vegetarian food is actually pretty good. Its something i've always said for years - you white folk simply dont know what to do with your vegetables No offence to the OP but this is a case in point . Go see my gran for an afternoon. she'll make a full veggie meal that'll blow you away, and that wont even be scratching the surface of what she knows.

Anyway, as a said, i'm kind of a fence sitter as i love my steaks, chicken, mince lamb curry etc but I completely understand the vegetarian point of view. In fact i completly tip my hat to them for having the willpower and discipline to choose a meat free diet. I certainly havnt.

Neilboy - it's not a case I don't know what to do with vegetables, it's more a case I don't know what to do with food in general, meat included!  For 6 years I've worked away from home on expenses and for another year I travelled so I've never really bothered with home cooking!  After a 10 hour day the thought of doing a food shop always lost out to someone suggesting a restaurant!

The vege is my best mates wife so not inviting her isn't really an option and in all honesty I'm making a bigger deal than necessary out of the vege issue!  The only thing that grates on me is she is also trying to convert meat eaters to this "there's no difference"... "it's just as nice"... blah blah blah.  I like my steaks rare with blood running out and you don't get that with quorn!

r8sso why not start with something you like, do you have a favourite cusine or type of food. If you like italian make italian, you can make pizzas for example, making individual ones and just leave off meat on one.

If you like Mexican see my earlier post, or if you love mushrooms make stuffed mushrooms or risotto etc.

I think you mentioned something abour portobello mushrooms earlier great with grilled halumi on top easy to do and taste fab, bit of olive oil, sprig of basil and pepper done.

Post some ideas about what you like if you want some more suggestions

Neiliboy. That is exactly what I found when I went veggy, you have to learn to cook again. This is something very clear on these pages that the biggest shouters can't do. I don't mean fry/grill a steak etc, I MEAN COOK. Because I love food from all over the world & because I have students from all over the world it soon became second nature to cook mouthwatering veggy meals, something impossible to show to some on this forum. Nine out of 10 meals we cook for ourselves & the students is foreign.



bowfer. Idiot!!! I read about the peasant food in books before you were born (when I was a meat eater) & you are wrong. I'm sorry since then you were born, grew up (matter of words there) & decided to change history in your normal manner.

Eat only vegetables forever & you will live to a ripe old age. Eat only meats forever & you will become ill & die young. FACT.

r8sso. As you don't seem to have the time on hand try this for a quick easy mexican main meal.
Fry onions, add a little (to taste) coriander & cumin. Fry for a minute or so. Add a tin of tomatoes (chopped). Add salt, pepper & some chilli sauce (to taste). Do as much as you need for the guests that are coming. Pour a little of the sauce into a small pan. In the large pan add cooked chicken cut into pieces. This can be done in advance. You can also add mushrooms in nice chunks. Add chunks of mushrooms into the small saucepan. (If the vegetarian likes quorn chunks add a few of these as well).

Add the chicken in sauce to the Tortillas & wrap over. Do the same with the mushroom/quorn one. Add cheese all over the top. Cook in hot oven for about 10 minutes. The cheese should have spread over the tortillas & may be a little brown, that is better. Serve onto plates, then with a spoon, add Yoghurt over the cheese top then drip a chilli or sweet chilli sauce over that. In Mexico they use sour cream & not yoghurt, we like it but prefer the healthy option & it tastes good, so long as you like yoghurt. Serve with rice & salad.
That is the very quick & easy Mexican meal. I often do more to it if I have the time. We always do refried beans but this is more time consuming & difficult. You can also put some nachos on a plate, cover with grated cheese & put in oven until cheese has melted. You can add guacamole & tomato sauce to dip, you can either make them as we do or just buy jars ready made.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 15:51