Author: Duncan
We’ve just had visitors staying with us from overseas. Obviously we wanted them to experience the full Aussie lifestyle, so the barbecue has been blazing away for a fortnight with a full farm of sausages and hamburgers washed down with plenty of Shiraz. I think I am more than ready to give up meat for just one, little week!
Day one.
Breakfast passes without incident. This will be the case until Saturday and Sunday when a combination of time, coffee and newspapers conspires to make bacon and eggs unavoidable.
At lunch I am in the supermarket. Lost. I pass the deli counter and go… where? What does a vegetarian put in a sandwich? Surely not just cheese? I rule out sandwiches for the week and settle on a jacket potato with a filling that (probably cheating) I find in the convenience section.
I am home from work to pea and halloumi fritters made by my lovely wife. I‘ll get her to share the recipe on this site; they’re great. She knows I like them and, seeing as she made me do this veggie week, I think she has made them to lessen the blow.
Day two.
Breakfast, tick (no time to fry). Lunch… here we go again. Surely not another potato? I am already bored of that. I head to the bakery and find a small vegetarian pizza. Very nice and no effort required.
Evening meal is another piece of motivation from my champion vegetarian wife. A chunky omelette with mushrooms and cheese (and imaginary ham).
Day three.
Toast, coffee, walk the dog. Still not experiencing any detrimental side-effects. Not feeling anything in fact. Should I be? But I am getting into the swing of this. I have mentioned vegetarian week to people at work and amid pitying looks and jokes about carrot sandwiches I am unearthing closet veggies offering recipes worth trying.
Lunch is a sandwich packed with beetroot, eggplant, swiss cheese and, yes, carrot! Its actually very nice and surprisingly filling.
More evening bribery. There’s no meat in the fridge so I eat what I am given – a vegetarian stir-fry. I avoid the tofu. Not ready for that.
Now, whats in store for day four???
Good to hear the tales of another male trying out the veggie lifestyle!! i tried to get my husband to do a similar thing but he can’t live without meat for more than one course of dinner. would love to find out how you ended up after 7 days! any recipe links?
I’ve had several requests for the pea and haloumi fritter recipe so here it is.
Serves 4 (makes 24)
250g frozen peas
1/3 cup of mint leaves roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk
11/4 cups self raising flour
2 green onions thinly sliced
250g haloumi cut into small cubes
2tbsp of parmesan, grated
salt and pepper to season
olive oil for frying
mint leaves and a wedge of lemon to serve.
Put peas in bowl of boiling water and stand for two mins. Drain. Put peas and mint in food processor and pulse until peas are roughly chopped. Put flour in a bowl add the whisked eggs and milk and whisk until well combined and a smooth batter forms. Add pea mixture, green onion, haloumi and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and stir until combined.
Pour enough oil into a non-stick frying pan to cover base of pan. Put over a medium heat. When oil is hot drop 2-tbsp spoonfuls of mixture into pan, frying 3-4 fritters at a time. Fry for 2-3 mins or until golden, flip and fry for another 2 mins until golden and cooked through. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.