The Antipreophogist

[Guest guest]

1. What is your name or what may we call you? Tom, Thomas, Tommy

(the Italians in the neighborhood where I grew up use this one),

Tomas (French or Spanish), Thomas with the " th " pronounced as in

theta (a cousin playfully uses this one). My ids include

antipreophogistiii and vgan_spryt_guy. " Antipreophogy " is an old

word for vegetarianism, meaning " anti meat eating. " I have used the

nickname The Antipreophogist in different places.

 

2. How long have you been a vegetarian, or how long have you been

interested in vegetarian cookery? I decided to stop eating meat in

1973 before my 16th birthday, but I gave in once with a wild duck

that my dad fixed up for me on Thanksgiving 1973. Besides being a

gourmet meat, with a brown and wild rice stuffing, there was another

layer to this: My dad was a marine on Corrigador, taken prisoner,

was on the death march, and experienced and witnessed brutal

prisoner abuse while a POW. His memories haunted him all his life,

and I came to understand that his smoking was connected to dealing

with those memories. Around Fourth of July was the worst, with the

firecrackers and fireworks setting him off on an endless chain

smoking, one cigarette after another. Oddly, the one time he could

put away the cigarettes for days at a time was while duck hunting

over in Eastern Washington. So when the duck was presented to me by

my dad at Thanksgiving, I gave in and ate it. Afterwards, I didn't

feel good about it, though it was as tasty and meaningful as any

meat could possibly be. I have never felt tempted since. I dropped

dairy and eggs in February 1982, and have been a vegan except for

honey and bee pollen ever since. I have done my own cooking since

starting Whitman college in 1975, where I had the benefit of the

resources available in the Seventh Day Adventist community in and

around Walla Walla to get a good start in understanding vegetarian

nutrition. I have done vegan cooking for community meals here in

Ashland, Oregon for over 6 years, and have developed some good

recipes for mass feedings of that type. Right now I'm between jobs

and would love any leads on vegan cooking positions....

 

3. What country are you in now? Well, the Ecotopian successionist

movement hasn't quite finished the process of breaking away the left

coast, so this is still the United States....

 

4. What city, town or region? Ashland, Oregon, the most vegan

friendly community I know of...

 

5. What age are you (just roughly, very roughly!)? Clue under 2.

 

6. Why did you join this group (apart from receiving an invitation!

*lol*)? I'm always looking for new recipes to try, especially things

with a kick, things that bring on a sweat, things so hot they burn

twice (this is not too naughty to say it this way?), whafts drifting

through the sinuses and nearly blowing the head off. So, this group

seemed like it might score a nice recipe or two. My expectations are

far exceeded! Wow!

 

7. What kinds of (vegetarian) foods or cuisines interest you most? I

am very open to possibilities. Thai, Mexican, Japanese, and Middle

Eastern foods tend to show up for dinner often.

 

8. Is there anything you'd like to tell the group? I am one of those

cooks who doesn't follow recipes to the letter. Cooking for the

community meals, especially, has given me the experience to innovate

from the basic ideas. I call it " gorilla cooking, " since it's a

vegan version of guerilla warfare, being flexible and taking what

you got on hand and making a revolutionary movement out of it...

[Guest guest]

>I have used the

> nickname The Antipreophogist in different places.

 

Welcome Tom - how about if I call you that since I can't pronounce the

nickname you like ;=) I'm Pat, " Owner' of this group and co-moderator with

Mark.

 

>I decided to stop eating meat in 1973 before my 16th birthday, but I gave in

once with a . . .

 

oooooh nooooooh, don't tell me again. I can still see the lovely little eyes on

that duck. I'm soo glad you're a veggie now and won't be telling us any more

sad stories, right? *lol* (But I'm sorry to hear about your father's wartime

trauma - it was obviously, at second hand, a trauma for you too, so I'm not

making light of it. Just not equipped to go there.)

 

>I have done vegan cooking for community meals here in

> Ashland, Oregon for over 6 years, and have developed some good

> recipes for mass feedings of that type.

 

That's great - you'll find other chefs on this list.

 

> 3. What country are you in now? Well . . . this is still the United States....

 

Now, now *lol* We have members from all round the world, so that wasn't as

silly a question as you think ;=)

 

As for your other culinary and gastonomical interest ;=) I think you'll find

plenty

to challenge you and your digestive system here! We all love spicy food. So

we shall look forward to recipes from you!

 

Best,

 

Pat ;=)