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No way. I don't think the people I know who eat meat would want me to do that. I have never cooked meat and I think I would make them sick somehow. I imagine undercooked chicken or something. Plus, I find it objectionable. I'm not going to try and stop them from eating it but I don't want to encourage it. It's sort of like being kosher for me. I wouldn't make a non-kosher meal for my buddies either. And my sister, a Muslim, would never cook pork or anything haram for her friends.

Being a meat-lover, I can't answer this question, but I'd like to ask the opposite question. Do meat-eaters out there cook separate vegetarian/vegan dishes or meals for their friends or loved ones?

I'm not a vegetarian but I certainly wouldn't expect one to cook meat for me. It's not like I have something against vegetarian food! If I was allergic to soy or to nuts, I'd let them know and assume they would avoid such ingredients but expecting someone to cook something they themselves won't eat just so that you can have it is kind of rude. Altering your cooking to honor someone's dietary restrictions is one thing, but this feels like another thing entirely.

If they wanted to do cook meat, then fine, but I wouldn't ask for it nor would I expect it.

In your case especially, I would say it's not hypocritical since your choice was mostly a taste issue. I would be surprised if someone with ideological reasons for going veg made the same choice but I wouldn't call them a hypocrite if they did, just less evangelistic than most.

If you know how to cook it and don't mind, then no problem. I became a vegetarian way before I could cook, so I don't think any of my meat eating friends would want me to try.
I don't feel meat is ever a necessity, so if I am cooking for others, what I choose to prepare should be sufficient.
When meat eaters cook for me, I am happy to eat sides or will bring additional dishes when asked.

This is a great question for me because i have been a vegetarian for 18 years. Almost every guy i have dated eats meat. For me it is hard to strike a balance between not wanting to cook meat for them and wanting to cook for them in general! I have refused to cook met at this point because i figure if they really need a hamburger they can learn to cook themselves or go get one somewhere.

I'm right with you! I don't eat meat because I don't find it tasty and hey, lots of it is not healthy anyway, so why eat it? But my husband (who loves to eat, but is not such a cook...), is a meat-eater. He very happily tolerates not having much meat in the house, so why shouldn't I try and cook some for him every once in a while. And while guests are always flexible too, it's nice to have them ooh and ahh over Like you, I try hands-off meat recipes that are quick and relatively fool-proof since I won't be tasting them, and often add grilled meat on top of things that I'll eat in their veggie state (homemade sausage on top of pasta, chicken on top of salad). That caveat and an electronic thermometer to test doneness have been my lifesavers!

I'd like to be a good sport about it for my husband's sake (I'm veg., he's not), but no, I don't cook meat for others. Honestly, I just find it too gross to touch, smell, look at, etc., especially in my own home. I'd rather not have meat in the house at all, actually, but we've compromised on that, and my husband cooks it himself from time to time.

Seeing as being a veggie is usually about personal values, I would think that most people wouldn't do this.

Most meat eaters will accomodate veggies by making a vegetarian or vegan dish for them to enjoy, but I don't think that it really has to be reciprocated... unless someone is really anti vegetarianism. The point is making a meal for all to enjoy. Vegs can't eat meat while omnis can enjoy a meatless dinner.

I'm not a veggie, but I don't cook meat in my home. I do make meat for my family though, because they eat almost no greenery, (unless it's covered in salad dressing).

Nope. I'm a vegetarian and I won't cook meat. If you want to eat meat around me, I won't lecture you (which some vegetarians do), but I'm not going to cook it for you.

I don't cook meat for others. Namely because I went vegetarian before learning to cook meat. I also find the texture of meat kind of gross, so while I have always been fine with raw fish (fishing family) I can't stand the slime that is left on a cutting board after a chicken is cut up, or the smell of the blood in beef or pork.

Once my (very hungry) boyfriend got a bit irritated when I refused to boil a buffalo sausage for him while I was cooking a risotto for us. We laughed about it once we were both in non-hungry moods, but it got pretty fired up in the moment!

My boyfriend eats organic meat occasionally (and almost always in the form of sausage- otherwise it is at a restaurant), and since dating him I have included some sustainable wild caught salmon and trout in my diet again. Usually he cooks it, but I would serve fish or eggs to a guest, but nothing more. I like to think that my vegetarian culinary skills make it unnecessary to potentially give friends food poisoning from poorly cooked meat.

@Michelle of Montreal I do. I drew the line at "cooking" raw for her though. No idea how, no desire to learn. I choose to honor her chosen dietary restriction even if I feel the reasoning behind it is flawed because she's my friend and I respect her.

Often, I'm cooking for my book club and trying a new recipe so I'll just use cooking veg as an excuse to try two new recipes. Besides, the meat eaters will eat the veggie food, too so it provides for some more variety.

Now, if it's just "I don't like ____" I generally find out too late to change things and most people have learned to pick around things they don't like so I try not to worry about it.

I used to refuse to cook meat or let it into my house but I've mellowed with age.

My father has diabetes and firmly believes he can only control it with meat and salads and alcohol. Since my parents visit 6 weeks at a time, I now have meat in my fridge when they visit. He's pretty much the only one I would do this for- and that's mostly because I want him to continue visiting.

That said, it's still kind of weird and uncomfortable. I just keep reminding myself that I often eat in restaurants that prepare meat in the same kitchen- and probably use the same utensils on my food as the meat food. Writing this, I realize that I have an issue with meat cooties. I'm 38 years old. Super pathetic :)

I can do this from both sides. My wife is a vegetarian, and i pretty much am a carnivore.

My wife does not mind cooking meat for me, but does not do it that often because of her lack of know how to cook meat. She has doe it successfully a few times, but since it is what I eat, i am just better at it. She always says if i just tell her how it needs to be cooked she would, but then we're often cooking together, and i just take care of the meat. She because a vegetarian when she was 15 or so, so before she was really cooking a lot.

On the other side of it, like i said i pretty much only eat meat (and please don't get into that debate with me i have been this way since i was a child) but i cook separate vegetarian things for my wife.

We go through a lot of dishes because of this because i am sure to keep utensils separate. I don't go and stir my meat with my spoon and then stick it in with the veggies. So twice the utensils and twice the pots, pans, etc. I even go to the extent on the grille (mine is a smaller weber q) and if i am cooking veggies up on one side for her and spicy italian sausages on the other side for me, i put a little wall made out of foil so that mine does not "spit" over on to her veggies.

We also cook a lot of meals that can be universal. Cheese tortalini for example, was 2 nights ago. She just ate it like that, or sometimes adds broccoli, and i threw some grilled chicken into mine. 2 separate meals become 1. This happens a lot.

We don't have kids yet, but are wondering what we're going to do with them. We'll figure it out when the time comes though.

I'm a vegetarian single dad and cook meat everyday for my two teenage daughters. I would be delighted for them to stop eating meat but it's their choice, not mine.

Most of the vegetarians I know who are married/in partnerships with non-veggies will cook meat for the non-veggie partner or add a little to the partner's serving. I'm pescatarian for Lent and trying to eat as little meat as possible, but I'm still willing to cook a little meat for my husband.

There are many different kinds of vegetarians. Some do it for religous/ethical reasons (killing animals isn't good) and others do it for environmental or health reasons. I think it'd be pretty obvious that its not ok for the former to cook meat and for the latter it might be ok once in a while when they feel it is ethical.

BTW, I am an environmental vegetarian and therefore more of a Michael-Pollen(?)-statistical vegetarian than an absolutist. I'd much prefer to see that survey. Of the people who are vegetarian, what kind of vegetarian are you?

I've been a veg for 29 years and my husband is an omnivore. There is no way I will cook meat--I think I'd puke. But I don't mind at all if he buys/prepares his own. What other people eat is 100% their own business, but I just can't handle meat, not to be polite, not to be helpful, I just can't do it.

On the flip side, I don't expect omnivore hosts to cook a special dish for me. And I LOVE hosts that don't make a big deal out of it. I'll be able to eat or not, and I will be just fine either way because I will make sure that I don't arrive starving. This is my own personal quirk and I don't like to make it anyone else's problem.

PS--I'm finding it hard to look at this site this month and may have to rejoin you all in April!

No, if people come over for dinner they know there's no meat being served. If I have a bbq, they bring their own meat and grill it. I was eating fish for a while so I would cook that for friends. If I lived with a boyfriend I don't imagine I'd cook his meat for him either.

I've only been vegetarian for a year but in the last 6 months just seeing, smelling, or touching raw meat has started to gross me out.

Many of my friends can't cook and I love to. I think they're secretly excited to come over because I always serve them delicious dips, sauces, salads, etc that taste so good they must be bad for you, but are chock full of tofu, veggies, etc. Of course I don't tell them until after they try it.

I also managed to throw an entirely vegetarian bday party for my boyfriend. I'd like to keep our house meat free for guests, though it's fine if people bring their own dishes. don't care if others eat meat. I just don't really want raw meat in my kitchen or on my grill.

For other people's parties, I often bring a few of my own dips. And I never expect people to make me something separate.

As a vegetarian, I used to cook meat (turkey or pork loin) for my brothers on the holidays. (only on the holidays as the smell really bothers me) But it started really grossing me out, so now I make him do it. Ironically, I still look at it/poke it and tell my brother when it's done because he's never sure. Also, I make him cook with tin foil so I can just throw out the juices and all and not clean a "meat" pan.

Mostly though, everyone I cook for loves my vegetarian dishes and say they don't miss the meat.

I certainly wouldn't want a vegetarian to cook me a meat based dish. If they won't taste the food as they go along, how can it possibly turn out any good?

I've been a vegetarian since age 5, so not only have I never cooked meat, but I probably wouldn't do a very good job of it if I wanted to (and I don't).

i am vegetarian, my husband is an omnivore. we rarely keep meat (other than lunch meat) in our house and when we cook at home, we eat vegetarian. i became a vegetarian just as i was learning to cook - so i have made meat before, but i was 12 and i really wouldn't know what to do now! just for the fact that i don't know what i'm doing, i don't think any guests want me to be cooking meat for them - so i don't. if my husband really wants some meat w/ his dinner, he cooks it himself. the few holidays that we've hosted at our house, i make lots of veggie sides and my mom brings over a ham or something. most people i know are pretty flexible and like their vegetables, so it works out.

my father-in-law, who we cook for, is an omnivore. i usually make a vegetarian meal for all of us once a week, and my husband puts together a meaty crockpot that his dad makes/eats during the week. i'm not opposed to throwing some meat in the crockpot for him, though (as long as i don't have to touch it or pre-cook it). it's his choice to eat meat and i don't believe in forcing my beliefs on him.

if i am a guest, i absolutely do not expect the host to make a special veggie meal for me (and i often feel uncomfortable when they do). while it's nice to have a vegetarian option, i am happy to bring a vegetarian dish or to eat what i can.

juice - if the kitchn did a survey on why people are vegetarian, i'd like to see an "all of the above" choice. there are so many good reasons to be a vegetarian - i couldn't pick just one!

I became a vegetarian for ecological reasons; I'll eat fish if it's on the "okay for the planet" list put out by monterey bay aquarium, for example.

I don't want to do anything to promote the eating of meat; but I don't evangelize or scold;

plus our kitchen is kosher (all vegetarian kitchens are automatically kosher), and my husband honors that.

he survived on mac and cheese, take-out, and freezer meals before he met me, plus he's gone down several pants sizes; and he loves the food I make.

pretty much; if the food is made well, he'll eat it; so I'm blessed.

and he gets his meat out of the house; everyone that comes over knows they are getting a vegan/fish meal but that it will be delicious :)

Interesting discussion - I became vegetarian in high school so never learned to cook meat. Six months ago I moved in with my meat-eating boyfriend so it's the first time I've had to confront this question. I like to cook and I get home earlier than him, so I make dinner most nights. Usually he just eats whatever I've made, sometimes he'll make himself some meat to have on the side of the main vegetarian entree. The only meat cooking I've done is to put some chicken breasts in the oven - he asked me to learn to do this so I can put them in the oven in time to be ready when he gets home. It grosses me out a little bit but I figure he has made major accommodations in his eating style so it's the least I can do. Also, he refuses to eat tofu which seems ridiculous to me but I guess if I'm allowed to have my food preferences he's allowed to have his. He will cook tofu for me, though :)

I would never dream of asking one of my vegetarian/vegan friends to cook meat for me. They do not eat meat or dairy products for ethical and ideological reasons, and I would never offend them so deeply by demanding a "dead animal/flesh" meal. Not to mention, they would NOT hesitate to tell me where to stick it if I did...

On the flip side, I always make sure to bring vegan desserts (cupcakes or cookies) to dinners where I know the host has probably prepared a delicious vegetarian dinner but forgot that their cake was not suitable for vegans.

Then again, I live in San Francisco and I have a lot more friends who don't eat meat & dairy than those who do. It's all about how many and what kind of vegetarians/vegans you are exposed to and understanding their choices.

As a former vegetarian, I've been on both sides of the fence. When I was veg, there was no way I was cooking meat for anyone, and, now, I would never expect a veggie friend to make me meat.

I've been a vegetarian for about 5 years now, which means that i spent about 20 years eating meat rather regularly. I love cooking and I cook meat for my boyfriend very often. It makes him happy and I like experimenting with different meats, though it is rather strange that I won't taste them.

When I was a vegetarian I cooked meat for other people. I actually cooked several full-on turkeys during that decade for T-givings and a wake.

I am a vegetarian and I don't cook meat for my live-in omnivore partner or anyone else. I don't care what other people eat and cook.

My reasons:
1. Like many, I've been a vegetarian for as long as I've known how to cook so I don't really know how to cook it.
2. For a lot of vegetarians, including me, meat is gross. I won't touch it, especially raw. I don't want it on my wooden cutting boards. I don't want to scrub animal grease off my pots and pans. The blood, the guts, the gore... these are often parts of why vegetarians are vegetarians.
3. I do most of the cooking and my man enjoys it as is. If he wants meat (occasionally he'll grill up some bison burger or broil some fish), he cooks it himself.
4. It's not like omnis can't eat vegetarian food so they'd NEED a special dish. This part makes the entire question seem silly to me.
5. I really only cook for people I'm close with, and they certainly would not expect me to cook meat. When having friends over, we often order out. If we get Indian or something, we can all order whatever we want and there's no problem.
6. I don't expect a special meal when others are cooking, so I don't know why others would.
7. The omnis I have cooked for always gobble up the food I make so I don't think they are going hungry.

This month is not the best :( Meat and Un-Meat? The original page talking about it seemed kind of dumb... all of the "un-meat" recipes were just regular recipes that could fall under any other topic. Why not do articles on tofu, TVP, seitan, etc? Someone on that thread suggested suggested showing a recipe that could be adapted either way... that's a fantastic idea... better than picture after picture of slabs of meat, hotdogs, ugh... and the balance to that was one article on portabella mushrooms, wow how groundbreaking! Ok I know I am whining too much now. I should really just duck out for this month and leave everyone be. :)

Oh and I am an "all of the above" vegetarian with the exception of religious beliefs since I have none.

I concur with Joanna. I am happy to cook a pre-formed meat burger for my boyfriend every once in a while.

...or the every so often turkey sandwich for lunch. I dislike touching the lunch meat, but i know that if i don't he's going to burger king. i do it out of love.

I have been a vegetarian for 10years and I cook meat pretty much every day for my husband. And I cook it very well too, I know how to shop and choose meats at the supermarket and I am always learning new meat dishes to cook for him. Not eating meat is my personal choice and nobody else should have to eat tofu every day because of that.

No, I won't cook meat. I have never cooked it, actually. I don't entertain much, but I usually try to make a substantil vegetarian meal when I do.

http://emblemorstain.blogspot.com

Juice- I am not a vegetarian but to be honest it seems the older I get the less meat I eat. I guess it's for health/ecological reasons. But I would venture to say that there is a third class of vegetarians. In addition to those who do it for religious/ethical reasons and those who do it for health/ecological reasons there are some who seem to do it because they are simply too grossed out by meat. I have a friend like this. I honestly don't think it is anything but the fact that she is grossed out by meat, with the blood and the fat and the fact that is the meat of something that was once walking around. She does eat some fish but nothing in a shell (like lobster) and no sushi or raw or medium-cooked tuna for the same reason. Does anyone else fall into this category?

I'm a vegan and a chef at a veg restaurant and can probably come up with 1001 ways to serve tofu, but I could not cook a piece of meat to save my life! My husband eats meat, but he gets his chicken fix on the weekend while I'm at work. He digs the food I make and has no problem with me not preparing it at home. When I have guests I prepare a vegetarian menu and don't feel gulilty not cooking meat. Most of the time I end up introducing a meat eater to a new vegetable/grain/cooking method that they have never tried before and end up loving.

Been pescatarian for the past 8 years, before that I was veg (not vegan) from age 15. When I first became a vegetarian, my thought was not to cook meat/fish/seafood. Then the holidays came. My mother usually hosts holiday dinners and it is something I've always helped her with (at 15 I was a far better cook than most adults). I couldn't leave all that work to my mother, so the "I will never cook meat" went out the window (my meat eating sister at the time was pretty useless in the kitchen and Dad tries but he's somewhat limited in the kitchen). One Christmas Eve I ended up shucking 6 dozen oysters the fish store sent by mistake (We ordered SIX oysters) because I was able to do it.
My husband is not veg. I do cook meat for him and for others. I made Ribs for his birthday party, it was his birthday party so only having veg food would have been weird, he's not veg. I barbeque very well, so I often end up at the grill when we have family gatherings. Somehow, I can cook meat very well even though I don't taste meat dishes as I cook. I guess for me it was a question of putting family relationships first, once I started helping my mother, it became a nonissue.

My family used to own a roast meal shop and one of our staff was vegetarian. She carved and gravied big hunks of roast meat every day. I always thought that was odd.

Eeeew. No. Never.

I just make something everyone (veg*n or not) likes, and everyone's happy. The only thing my omnivorous friends and family have ever grumbled about is my refusal to keep caffeinated sodas on hand (I'm a recovered caffeine addict).

Everyone loves my ratatouille, my artichoke quiche, my cashew roast en croute, and especially my desserts. Why add something unnecessary to a meal that's already great?

I have been a vegetarian all my life and for most of my life that was the 'normal' way to be! I am Indian (south asian) and never realised before moving to the US that people would look at me and wonder 'How do you not eat meat?'! I think the reason this question riles people up is that vegetarianism is considered a fad; that others have to accomodate. Why should they not get the meat as is 'normal'? But I dont cook meat (dont know how), dont eat it, and have never had an omnivore go hungry in my home.

Thanks WhenYouSeeSparks...I agree.

Lots of really gross meat pictures on TheKitchn now. I loved The Kitchn before because it had innovate and interesting recipes. Now it's all about slabs of raw meat.

I wonder if more people are reading the raw meat articles or less?

I started nannying for three preschoolers a couple summers ago, and then I had to learn to cook meat, since i fed them three meals a day! I just try not to think about it (helps when there are three crazies running around) and get it over with as quickly as possible...but it's not terrible. :)

juice-
I'm also a vegetarian (pescatarian) for environmental and health reasons. I don't cook meat for others not because it grosses me out or makes me feel bad for eating an animal, but because I feel guilty for contributing to the meat industry (organic or not it is still damaging). I also love introducing my friends and loved ones to different kinds of dishes as well. Usually they enjoy trying something new.

When I first became a vegetarian (in college) I sat down to dinner with my parents and told them I couldn't eat the casserole with meat in it because I'm a vegetarian now. My dad's response "There are vegetables in it too!"

I eat meat, but I would never, ever expect a vegetarian friend to cook meat for me! I would actually be incredibly surprised if they did. cooking a vegetarian dish is different-- they don't eat meat for a specific reason (often moral). however, I would not be 'offended' to only eat vegetables. in fact, I rather enjoy being exposed to new preparations of veggies and such from my vegetarian friends.

on a similar note, I have no problem preparing vegetarian meals for friends, as it's often very simple to leave the meat out of a dish, or create an entree from a side dish. I'm a bit less tolerant of preparing special vegan meals, however, as it would be a a lot of extra work and different ingredients, plus I quite enjoy planning menus based on my personal inspiration rather than having them dictated by others' limitations, (similarly, I can try to work around an allergy, but you might just have to pass on one dish). at my house, a vegan would likely get a very nice salad with some nuts on it for protein (don't get me started on my vegan friend who didn't like salads). I was taught that, as a guest, you graciously take what your hostess offers without making demands-- it's not a restaurant and preparing a meal for several people is already a ton of work without having to prepare alternates for everyone's likes and dislikes. if it's not quite nutritionally sufficient, have a snack before or after the dinner party to supplement it. the point of a dinner party is not really just to get a meal, but to have fun with your friends!

I prefer to have my own non-meat items NOT cooked with other meat, but I won't make a big stink about it if there's only one grill. I used to, but then it got to be too much of an issue when going out to restaurants and family gatherings. (I'm the only vegetarian in a large family of meat-eaters)

Though I don't like to cook meat, and don't really know how, I have on occasion cooked a chicken breast or pork chop for my ex-bf when he and I lived together. I just tried not to touch it with anything other than the utensils.

I am a vegetarian and I do not cook meat for other people - I live alone and just don't buy it, even if I'm having company. I just make a lovely, tasty, bountiful meal, and I guess I'm lucky to never have had anybody complain. No one has ever even asked me to cook meat for them. I've had people bring meat to a bbq at my home and don't care. They bought it, they eat it, they throw it on the grill. I don't care if people eat meat in a restaurant. I don't like when people give me a hard time for being a veg, and so I would never, ever lecture a meat-eater, no matter what I think about the practice. I just think it's respectful to let people make their own choices. I like to hope this would stem beyond the kitchen too!

I will absolutely not cook meat. Ethics aside, everyone can eat the dishes I make and they are the things I'm good at making, so why would I make something that is only ok for a few people at the party to eat and that I'm unpracticed at?

I've been a vegetarian for over ten years now and just recently started cooking meat for my boyfriend. I'm not a militant vegetarian - I don't obsessively read labels and I love making (and eating!) homemade marshmallows, which have gelatin in them. At this point in my life I stay vegetarian because I have hereditary high cholesterol, don't really like the taste of meat anymore (the only thing that tempts me to this day is fried chicken...smells criminally good), not to mention I have an easily irritable digestive tract and probably couldn't digest meat very well anymore.

I cook meat because my boyfriend, while open to trying pretty much anything, really loves a good steak and adores bacon. And if I didn't cook for him, he'd end up eating Hungry Man dinners or something, which just isn't fair. I wouldn't want to sit down to a nicely-cooked meatless dinner and make him eat a frozen tv dinner because I'm too prissy to cook him something I don't eat myself.

We do have some issues, like I'll ask him to cook some meat while I handle something else in the kitchen (so we can eat sooner) and he'll screw something up and get upset at me for not telling him how to do it. Then I have to remind him that until very recently, I had never cooked meat in my life, and am really not a good authority on the subject. And then suggest he go see how Alton does it.

We only have one vegetarian in my family, my stepsister (not blood related) and she refuses to cook meat for her carnivore husband, at thanksgiving the man stuffs himself with just meat! we asked her if he could take home leftovers and she said "absolutely not" He wishes she would allow it in the house, but its never going to happen!....which is exactly why we dont go over there for dinner!

I will absolutely cook meat for others. If I expect them to cook vegetarian for me, why should they not expect the same?

That being said, if given a choice, I cook a vegetarian meal. The only person in my family who is bothered by this is my father - he won't eat a meal (supper) without meat.

I suppose I'm a bit strange then, in that if I'm invited to someone's house as a guest, I fully expect them to cook vegetarian, or at least have a vegetarian main dish along with a meat one. Of course, all my friends know I'm a strict vegetarian. I was always taught that it is the host's job to cater to his/her guests and make them feel comfortable. It's very inconsiderate to invite people into your home and not take their preferences into consideration. While I don't cook meat or allow it in my home, when I have people over for dinner, I do ask ahead of time about food allergies and preferences. I'm not willing to ignore my own beliefs, but I do want my guests to feel comfortable knowing that I'm serving something I know they will be able to enjoy.

That said, there are a lot of vegetarians in my family. I never imagined all kinds of diets wouldn't be catered to until I moved out of my parents' house.

I am not a vegetarian, so I will flip the question around. Would I cook a vegetarian/vegan dish to accommodate my guests?

Not a chance. First, short of a salad, my knowledge is not suited to make a good vegetarian/vegan dish. Second, I just really don't feel obligated in any fashion to do so. Just as the vegetarians here don't feel obligated to cook a meat dish.

Just because someone chooses to be vegetarian for say moral/ecological reasons, doesn't mean I must accommodate them personally. They are welcome to bring something of their own if they wish. But if it's burger night, I'm making it with beef. They are welcome to bring soy burgers or what not. And cook it on the Foreman.

As a former vegetarian turned carnivore on doctors orders, I can honestly say that I feel comfortable cooking both styles of dishes, so maybe I'm not the ideal person to ask.

I have an aunt who shall remain nameless - but it is her life's mission to include bacon or cream of mushroom soup in everything she makes. After a day that consisted of a few crackers (she tossed the crudites in pear juice on our behalf - i'm allergic) and a side salad and a baked potato, I almost walked out when she brought out the bacon brittle for dessert - mostly, because this was the third meal I'd had at her house that went like this.

Perhaps it's due in part to my history as a person with food allergies, but I've always been an accommodating cook. My father dislikes cloves after some bad sixties dentistry and has developed an intolerance to garlic. My grandfather has an irrational disdain for turkey because he grew up down wind from a processing plant. My grandmother can't eat dark, leafy vegetables because of her heart medication. The SO has the same taste in vegetables as most five year olds. I'm happy to cook around people's preferences, allergies, medical concerns and life choices when I'm given enough time to prepare. I'm certainly not going to exclude my vegetarian friends from dinner parties because I don't want to try to master the vegetarian lasagna or stop inviting my father over because I really like to get unreasonable with the garlic press. I'm not saying that one vegan friend warrants serving everyone at a backyard barbecue tofu dogs, but having a package on hand along with some marinated mushrooms and bell peppers - just common courtesy.

For me, it's all about comfort - I want the people I like to feel comfortable in my home, and, in my experience, the fastest way to make someone uncomfortable is to alienate them during something as simple as dinner.

I will if needed, but I know my boyfriend prefers to cook his own... In general, it is a hard balance because I cannot expect my boyfriend to become a vegetarian simply because I don't want to handle, touch, smell or cook meat. Raw meat and poultry totally gross me out, and I am a super clean freak about anything raw in my kitchen.

I have been a vegetarian since a young age and have never learned how to properly cook meat. Because of this, I don't usually feel confident when I make a meal that has meat (on the side, cooking for a veggie and a meat lover is always interesting)... I can't tell if it's seasoned right, undercooked, overcooked... eck!

The bf has caught on that if he wants to be lazy and not participate with dinner, he will be eating veg!

I don't eat meat because I am disgusted by it, so how could I cook it? Although my husband eats meat occasionally, our home is free of it, I don't want my refrigerator to be stinky or my utensils and sink to be contaminated with dead animals.

I come from the south of Brazil, a culture that is very meat centric. My mother never accomodated my dislike for meat, even her lasagna was made with meat inside, and the pasta was cooked in chicken broth. I remember going to parties or restaurants where there was absolutely nothing that I wanted to eat, even the potatoes were served in a plate garnished with some fish or poultry. As a vegetarian in the 70s, I was seen as an awfully spoiled child, even though my mother forced me to eat meat everyday.

Today's world is much friendlier to vegetarians. But today I have my own kitchen. If people want to eat at my home, they eat vegetarian. If they don't, the front door is not locked.

I was a vegetarian for a long time, but that changed when I went to college overseas where being a healthy vegetarian just wasn't possible.

Mr. sfumato loves meat too much to give it up, so we get it via CSA from a local farm, and we try to consume meat no more than a few times a week (I will not eat veal or lamb, though).

We have friends who are vegetarians, and since I love to cook, I absolutely make vegetarian dishes when they come over. There are so many great options that it honestly doesn't feel like extra work.

This might be due to the fact that we mostly gravitate towards Mediterranean, North African and Middle-Eastern cuisine which includes lots of vegetarian dishes.