The Vegetarian Epicure: Book Two

In high school, I had two friends who were brothers. Their father had had cancer when he was a young man and thought that becoming vegetarian might be a healthy lifestyle choice, so he had given up eating meat years before. I had never known a vegetarian before I knew this family and it seemed so exotic and fancy to me that someone would actually, really not eat meat. I visited their house a lot and they always had huge vats of things cooking, like lentil soup and vegetarian chili, and they were good and generous cooks.

One of the brothers and I were out one night in my neighborhood (in Buffalo, New York) with my beloved part-beagle, Merle. We were sitting on a stoop on a corner and it was very quiet out--no traffic, no people walking around. Merle was sitting on the sidewalk just in front of us. Then we heard a motorcycle coming down the road behind us, out of sight from where we were sitting, then a very loud, strange sound, and then another strange sound--hard to place what we had heard. Moments later, a motorcycle skidded by on the sidewalk, a foot in front of us, with no one on it, and it hit my sweet dog. Merle went barking off somewhere. My friend and I sat shell-shocked for a moment, and then we realized what had happened. So we ran behind us, and there was the poor lost soul whose last act was riding his motorcycle too fast around a curve on a quiet night near Fillmore and Clinton Streets. He was face-down. We felt his wrist. He was gone, just that fast.

My friend and I were 14 when this happened. There were no cell phones then, so we ran the two blocks to my house to have my parents call the police. We learned later that the young man who died was only 18. The end of his life was a galvanizing moment in mine.

The day before this happened, my dog and I shared a wonderful corned beef and cabbage dinner together. For every bite I took, he also had one that I tossed from my plate. Right then and there, in honor of my dog, who of course did not survive the impact, and in honor of that poor boy who lost his life, and inspired by my friend's dad, on my birthday a few days later, when I turned 15, I became vegetarian. Just like that.

For three years, I ate no meat products of any kind--every cracker and cookie had lard in it back then, cheese was made with rennet, etc., and I was really hard-core. Dairy, eggs, ok, but no meat or meat products. After three years, I went out with the other brother-friend from that same family and treated us to a lobster dinner. After that, for 21 more years, I ate only vegetarian foods and seafoods. So, for 24 years, I was a completely strict fish-eating vegetarian.

I won't talk now about why I switched back to meat when I did, but I will mention that my very first cookbook was given to me as a high school graduation gift by that same family I've written about here. It was the Vegetarian Epicure: Book Two by Anna Thomas, and it remains near and dear to me to this day. Because it was my only cookbook for a long time, I got to know it very well. It is a wonderful book and I still make certain things out of it; they have become staples, like: Cranberry bread, Split pea soup, Sauerkraut soup, Mushroom stew, Chocolate cheesecake and Pumpkin pie.

The Mushroom Stew became a perennial favorite with my family at Thanksgiving. Here is the recipe:

Mushroom Stew

5 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbs. flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup tomato juice
2 cups peeled, quartered tomatoes
1 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 lbs. mushrooms, washed
1 lb. boiling onions
red wine to taste
chopped fresh parsley to taste
salt and pepper
1 cup pitted ripe green olives

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add to it the bay leaves, garlic, and onions. Sauté until the onions are golden and then stir in the flour and lower the heat.

Cook this roux for several minutes, stirring constantly, and then add the vegetable broth and tomato juice. Stir with a whisk to remove all lumps, and add the peeled tomatoes.

In another, larger pot, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and add the thyme and the washed mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms over a high flame for several minutes, turning them over often, and then adding the boiling onions and the tomato sauce. Turn down the heat and simmer the stew for about 20 minutes. Add a little red wine, some chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Last, but not least, toss in the green olives. Cook only a few more minutes, and serve hot, with a good bread and some red wine.

Serves 6.