March is Meat/Un-Meat Month!

It's March, ho-hum. While spring may be dawning in some climates — the gorgeous one I just left in Los Angeles comes to mind — it's not even the tail-end of winter here in the northeast. More like the hindquarters of winter. We still have nothing too fresh at the farmers' stands and no green on our trees.

So this month we're going to focus on meat. But wait, that leaves out the vegetarians. So we'll focus on vegetarian eating too. Call it Meat/Un-Meat Month.

Each week we'll highlight recipes, tips, how-tos and other tales of a different meat. We start next week with good old beef. As we go, we'll also make sure to give a heavy dose of vegetarian coverage. It helps that we have both vegetarians and carnivores on staff.

To get you started this weekend, here are a few of my favorite meat and un-meat recipes from our archive:

Meat
• Cincinnati Chili
• Chicken (or Turkey!) Pot Pie
• Braised Summer Pork Shank (Adaptable For Any Season)
• Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce
• Healthier Hot Wings
• Spice-Seared Boneless Leg of Lamb
• Classic Beef Stew

Un-Meat
• Yogurt Barley Soup
• Fresh Fennel and Lemon Slaw
• Kale and Potato Puree
• Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Fontina
• Cipollini and Mushroom Tart
• Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta, Sage and Pine Nuts
• Hijiki with Carrots

Comments (3)

and what about us omnivores? Guess we'll have to mix and match. I'd like to push for a little more accuracy in terminology since I'm tired of being referred to as a carnivore just because I'm not vegetarian.

Here's a great idea inspired by Peter Berley's Cookbook the Flexitarian Table... you could make one meal and show how it can be adapted to either vegetarians (like myself) or omnivores (like the rest of my family) for instance one of his recipes is Stuffed Dumpling Squash/Poussin with Quinoa, Dried Fruit, and Pumpkin Seeds.

I think that this would be better than creating separate veggie and meat meals because it shows that vegetarians and meat lovers can eat pretty much the same meals at the same table without arguing over what's for dinner.

I've been vegan for about 5 years—you might be surprised at how many vegan substitutes are out there.

Anyway, for anyone interested in vegan meals, you should definitely check out veganyumyum.com. It's one of my favorite recipe blogs. The recipes are very easy to modify as well. Haha, so you don't have to force yourself to eat tofu, tempeh or seitan if you don't want to.

And for anyone who is interested in gluten-free recipe blogs, check out thewholegang.typepad.com. My friend was diagnosed with Celiac Disease a few months ago and that blog really helped him out.