So the family is getting on the Meatless Monday bandwagon. As you may or may not know, the campaign has been getting a lot of press in the past year or so thanks to the likes of Mark Bittman from the NY Times and Michael Pollan- the grand guru of sustainable food and the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Just a few weeks ago, Mario Batali announced he and his partner Joe Bastianich will be recognizing Meatless Mondays by adding vegetarian meals on all their restaurant's very carne-centric menus. The idea is this: If you are carnivorous- make a deliberate, pre-meditated effort to go without meat for one entire day a week. This does sound a little like Lenten Fridays without the fear of eternal damnation (or the hairy eyeball from the mother in-law) if one should slip and grab a burger for lunch. (A little lapsed Catholic hyperbole- mea culpa!) What a great way to institute more vegetables, legumes, perhaps some heart healthy fish into our weekly diets. By doing so, some hope to decrease meat consumption exponentially therefore having a huge positive environmental impact. To read more authoritative words on the subject check out the link below.
Now there are already those nights we end up having meatless meals- but generally it's because the freezer was empty and I'd throw together a pasta dish and a salad. What I hope is by following this on a regular basis it'll keep us all conscious of the need to make what I think will be better choices. Both healthfully and economically. That is of course if we're not having lobster every Monday. It'll also be a great way to use up the vegetables we've picked up at our farmer's market over the weekend.
So, maybe give it a try. Make a fritatta or a gourmet grilled cheese on some crusty peasant bread or some pasta e fagioli. Tonight I'm making some seared salmon with steamed potatoes and wilted pea shoots we picked up from Inverbrook Farms at the Kennett Square Farmer's Market. Probably to be accompanied by a rose picked out by Giovanna during a wine shopping excursion yesterday.
Cheers!
