Croissants and Alphonsoes goes Vegetarian (!?)

Well, I'd been putting off writing this post for a while. But I'd figured that when you write a food blog, it might be a good idea to let people know that you're no longer gonna be taste-testing steaks at Tati Bistro on Harbord Street. It's been about 6 weeks since I've eaten meat like beef and chicken and pork, and I'm phasing fish out of my diet (which is a bit harder, I'll tell ya).
What would make a grrl who loved cutting into the occasional steak give up all meats? Well, about six weeks back, I saw a small animal get killed by a car on my street. I know it seems trivial, but in that moment, I was reminded of life, death, and animal suffering in a way that I'd forgotten for years. I'd been a vegetarian through most of high school and my undergrad. Remembering my reasons for abstaining from meat, or at least cutting back was quite easy.
This last weekend I went home to visit my folks in Montreal. And as my dad is vegetarian, I ate much amazing, Gujarati meatless meals. My parents are going to California to visit my aunt for the holidays, so we had our holiday gathering two weeks early. And while my family has had a healthy sense of skepticism when it comes to my new eating habits, My younger sister and her boyfriend both bought me two lovely books that I'm very excited to read. The Moosewood empire has expanded to prepared food and cookbooks, from a restaurant in Ithaca, NY. Their website can be found here. My sister bought me one of their new books, and said that she'd give me one of their others that she doesn't really use. And the present that I'm really excited about is this book, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It has been the hot new book in animal rights and criticism. I can't wait to crack into it.
Last week, The Mixmaster gave me yet another birthday surprise, an evening at the Bata Shoe Museum and a dinner at Vegetarian Haven. We shared the Tofu Drumsticks, which were served with a sweet and sour sauce, and I had the seitan cutlets, which was a sizzling plate. We shared a small blueberry tartlet that is easily the best vegan dessert I've ever had, and tofu ice cream. It was a sinful dinner.
So, no trying out foods with meat in it. But I might get friends to try them, and I'll still report on food culture that has to do with meat dishes. It's not like I'm just gonna be reviewing Fresh over and over now...