feeding dexygus seconds

carnivorous cravings

Back in 1998 or 1999, I don't recall, I became a vegetarian.  Ovo-lacto, to be exact, meaning that in addition to my plant-based diet, I also ate eggs and dairy, but no meat to speak of.  When I visited Italy and Austria in 2002, I sort of fell off the wagon, and indulged in some flesh.  It started with fish and seafood in Rome, Florence and Venice, then progressed to wurst in Vienna and Salzburg.  When I returned home, I found that I couldn't return to my regular eating habits.  I soon incorporated fish and seafood into my diet, and since then, I've been a pesce-vegetarian.  I know, the term is lame.  I shouldn't even call myself a vegetarian anymore.  Did you know there are people who don't eat mammals, but eat chicken, and call themselves pollo-vegetarians?  That's even more lame.  Anyway, I digress.

I am convinced that I was born to be a carnivore.  I grew up eating meat.  I liked it rare, sometimes even raw.  I remember once or twice as a child stealing bits of raw beef that my parents were marinating for dinner.  Whenever I ate chicken, I picked the bones clean (though that might be due to being Chinese rather than being a carnivore).  Eating steak and pork chops, I really enjoyed eating any fat and gristle, as long as it hadn't gotten cold and congealed.

There are some people who give up meat, and not miss it at all.  Others are even disgusted by it.  And then there are the pitiful saps like me who crave it, yet give it up because they can't bear to eat an animal whose only reason for existence was to be eaten.

But I gotta tell ya, the past week or so, I've been craving meat something awful, and I'm not PMS-ing either.  I think it started last Sunday at my brother's house.  He served up some Aidell's sausage, some barbecued chicken, and some steak.  His girlfriend sat across from me with her plate right in my line of sight, and I found myself staring longingly at that barbecued drumstick.  I came pretty close to caving that night.  There have been other incidents this week where I could barely resist the temptation.  Sausages at work, chicken teriyaki at lunch with family.  I was able to stay strong, but I don't know how long my resolve will last.

I'll be visiting Paris in (oh my god!) 19 days, and I'm afraid it will be my downfall.  Not only will the food be gloriously tempting, I might try to use the I'm-in-another-country-experiencing-a-different-culture and should-fully-experience-the-cuisine excuse, like I did the last time I was in Europe. 

Help.  Drowning.  Guilt.  Craving.

mission saveur

for those of you not familiar with my previous blog, feeding dexygus, i am about to start a mission born from boredom in the kitchen. here's the blurb that i've just cut and pasted from my old site.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 my new project i've been feeling rather uninspired in the kitchen lately, and i'm even a bit over my indian food phase. flipping through cookbooks just hasn't helped. then an idea began to form. i've got stacks and stacks of food magazines that i rarely ever cook from. why not give them a try? i've decided to stick with saveur magazine because 1) i love it so, and 2) it will give me a wide variety of cuisines to choose from. so, my plan is whenever i cook something for dinner, i must choose something from saveur, AND i must cook at least one item from each issue i own, and in sequential order. the issues i have are 13-26, 32-35, 37-39, 47-78(current). so stay tuned to find out what issue #13 has in store for me.