Thou dost not partake of the flesh? Tis heresy!!

You might think that in a class where the primary cooking techniques are poaching and steaming people would be open to a vegetarian day. Afterall the class focuses on healthier ways of cooking and eating, so going a meal without meat makes sense, right?

Apparently not.

While I was rather excited (I'm dangerously close to being a vegetarian as is), the day was met with groaning resentment from the vast majority of the class. Animal friendliness aside, if I'm going to be steaming something I'd much rather be steaming some veggies than a nice loin cut. I'm not here to rant against poaching as a cooking method for meats; it can add a lot of nice flavor and it is a nice healthy way of cooking which is great, but regardless of flavor I do miss a nice sear.

Given meat as the item in question, I'll take a nice quick sear to start and then finish with some good ol' roasting time in the oven. Worried about the extra fat added by searing? Instead of pouring all that oil into the pan, give the meat a nice rub down or brushing of oil to coat. You'll be using a very small amount of fat, and you'll get a nice clean sear out of it.

If this apathy toward vegetables was an isolated incident I wouldn't have reason to pause (other than to sigh, shake my head, and move on with life). Unfortunately it seems far more widespread than my classmates. We're a meatcentric nation, mainly because we can afford it; in both the land and resources to raise livestock, and the money to purchase the finished goods. I'm not here to make some ambiguous anti-meat statement. I'm simply here to make a pointed pro-vegetable one.

First of all, don't use the word vegetarian. Use the word vegetable. The difference? "Vegetarian Night" is a nigh death sentence to some, implying punishment by lack of meat, or maybe the sad outcome of not having gone shopping in time and being left to throw together the last dregs of edible bits and pieces still hiding in the refrigerator. "Vegetable Cuisine", though, is something entirely different. Just ask the chefs at Ubuntu in Napa (http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnVidW50dW5hcGEuY29tLw==). It's not at all about cooking without meat, it's about celebrating the wonderful flavor, texture, color, and culinary experience that is cooking with vegetables.

Look beyond a plate of steamed veggies. Forget childhood nightmares of brussels sprouts and the smell of cooked cabbage (which, actually, doesn't happen if you don't overcook it). If you've never enjoyed true farm-fresh vegetables, you're missing out on one of life's finer experiences. Few things offer such clean, fresh taste, such intense flavors. We need to stop opening cans of green beans that have been sitting in a warehouse for who knows long waiting to be shipped, and start looking at fresh, in-season beans. Get rid of the mindset that everything should be available whenever and wherever we want it. As much as I'd love to have access to beautifully ripe peaches year-round, that's just not how it works. Focus instead on choosing produce that's in season and, when you can pull it, local. Boons to local economy aside, most fruits and veggies don't take too kindly to days of travel spent couped up in a semi trailor.

Trust me, your efforts will be rewarded. When carefully selected and well prepared, vegetables can form a plate all their own.