More summer fun

Behold: the "weekend" tag!

Yesterday was incredibly busy. Spent the late morning and early afternoon at an AKC dog show, run by my supervisor at work. It was so neat to see so many different breeds of dog - most recognizable, some not so much - in one area in such great shape. Beautiful dogs everywhere! However, it still pains my heart to see dogs cosmetically altered for what has simply become tradition. Yes, your (insert breed here) needed its tail docked and ears cut when it was hunting rapid jackelopes in the wilds of Tanzania. But today, most individuals of most breeds are not used for their original purposes. They are the treasured pets of families, young people, old people, comfort dogs in hospitals, aids to physically impaired persons, etc. They absolutely may retain their working nature (Border collies, anyone?) or they may be excellent couch potatoes. Either way, I do not think it necessary or humane to continue to subscribe to a breed standard created who knows how long ago for outdated purposes. Just because you think something looks nice (and have been taught to think that way by people seeking to preserve only the aesthetics of a breed) does not mean it should be done. I really wish they'd knock it off with that. And don't get me started on not fixing your dogs. You animal can be just as beautiful an example of the breed as it can be with its testicles or ovaries intact - you just wouldn't make the megabucks from breeding them out. (Yes, I understand that they seek to breed the very best of the breed to advance the breed genetics. I get it. But why not breed a litter or two and then cut them off? Ugh.) So it was a general mixed-feelings experience.

That afternoon, I whipped up some dessert things (phyllo dough cups, whipped cream with fruit on top) for the cookout we were attending. The food there was excellent, the company was even better and it made for a truly wonderful night. I have awesome friends.

Today is going to be productive, despite the fact that we slept in until 11am. We've already gotten lunch and done some shopping (can I argue "back to school stuff"?) and now Danny's mowing/edging the lawn before we hit up Home Depot and the grocery store. I'm going to make a pot of black bean soup that I can hopefully bring to work for lunch for a few days this week.

(Home Depot is a story for another day - some creature has eaten the tops off one of my tomato plants and half of one of my green tomatoes. Grrrr.)

Busy busy busy!

Got a lot of wedding planning stuff taken care of last night with my parents, but still SO much to do! This weekend is going to be hectic - picking out and planting the flowers for my centerpieces, buying alcohol for the reception (and making a test pitcher of sangria for the rehearsal dinner) and combing Pinterest for some last minute wedding ideas. Nevermind the fact that I have thirty seven billion other things to do in just ten days.

Danny is coming over for dinner and the hockey game tonight - I'm planning to make the beer braised chicken that my mom likes so well for them and hopefully a new black bean cakes recipe I found yesterday for myself. Another new "ingredient" I tried today was a vegan burger for lunch which was OK - not super but edible. I've noticed that even if I'm not crazy about something the first time I can kind of talk my tastebuds around after a couple tries so I think it will be one of those things. Hoping the black bean cakes turn out well - maybe I'll even post an annoying picture ;)

Recently I've been thinking again about going vegetarian. Back in February, my resolution to eat less meat went really well and I've continued to eat less overall, although the amount has probably snuck back up after PEI Burger Love in April and coming home to a distinctly omnivorous household. I realized that eating less meat makes me feel somehow better overall - morally, yes, but also health-wise. I can't exactly pinpoint what it is, but I just feel good when I eat less meat.

So I've returned to considering full out vegetarianism. The hardest part for my February resolution was finding recipes, ingredients and snacks that were vegetarian that seemed easy. Sorry, but I can't really afford to go out and drop a bunch of money on some particular exotic spice or weird vegetable. After I was able to get a few regulars under my belt, though, it became a lot easier. So I think continuing to expand my recipe horizons is a key element. (Fortunately there's a boat load of good vegetarian recipes out there, it's just a matter of sifting through them!)

The other tricky part is that my wonderful almost-husband and the parents that I live with for the summer are strongly omnivorous.  When I'm home, I make an effort to pitch in around the house by keeping my spaces clean, mowing the lawn and making dinner. If I were by myself, making vegetarian dinner wouldn't ordinarily be an issue; with the others around I feel obligated to make something meat-based. I think my solution will be to make a vegetarian entree and then make a "side" of meat that they can add in or eat in addition to the entree. The last thing I want to be is a preachy vegetarian.

Which brings me to my last point...telling people about my decision. I gave up pork in my first year of vet school and when asked, I do my best to be as neutral as possible and just say, "I don't agree with how pork is raised." But (if you remember an earlier post where I went to a CFIA lecture on slaughter), it's past that now. I don't agree with how most meat is raised, transported and slaughtered. In the end my problem is not at all with raising animals to be eaten, or eating animals; it's the way that it's done that I just can't get over. But that's all a bit complex to explain to someone casually asking if you want ribs at your rehearsal dinner.

So I think I'm going to go back to quantifying my meat intake like I did in February (three meat meals per week). After that I may be ready to make the leap!