"We live vegetarian!"
Why do vegetarians have such a strange image? Discuss in the Bfriends group "Vegetables is my meat"
TV station wanted to marry Irmela Erckenbrecht with butchers
Difficult situation: Irmela Erckenbrecht got prefixed with fish
"For me it is a pleasure to eat vegetarian food, it is not a renunciation, not a pain," says Irmela Erckenbrecht (49). She is a translator and author, among other things cookbooks. She has consistently been vegetarian for 20 years, and she has always been known for invitations.
At that time, not everyone could relate to the term "vegetarian". "Some people think that of course, as a vegetarian, you eat fish", she says. And promptly she got a casserole set by friends with fish, "with head and all the bells and whistles". An elaborate court, you could see that the hosts had made the right effort. It did not help, she had to tell them that she does not eat fish. "There was salad and bread, and I have said a thousand times that I will be so full," says Irmela Erckenbrecht. Nevertheless, the situation was unpleasant for all concerned.
She has learned something, meanwhile she says clearly: "I eat neither meat nor fish". It's important to her not to play the bitch, she also does not try to proselytize others. Nevertheless, sometimes unpleasant situations can not be avoided. As recently in a posh restaurant. She and her husband, who is also a vegetarian, ordered a complete vegetarian menu. In advance as a greeting from the kitchen, there was just goose liver pate. She kindly explained to the waiter "Sorry, we do not eat meat". With a stony expression, he brought the plates back to the kitchen. Irmela Erckenbrecht was uncomfortable: "That brings a negative mood, I do not want that, I see that positively and do not want to spoil the appetite of other people ".
On the other hand, she found the request of a TV station very funny, if she did not want to move to a butcher in the Palatinate for a week. She did not do it then, fearing that the private broadcaster might just be exposing the participants. The confrontation would have still found them exciting: "With a lot of fun, we would have brought that safely across the stage".
Even though Irmela Erckenbrecht is tolerant, the idea of sharing her life with someone who kills animals on a daily basis is scary. Above all, the compassion for the animals is that they do without fish and meat. An experience from her childhood is especially remembered: "In our village there was a farm, which also had its own slaughter room. I was maybe six or seven years old when I saw that they pulled a pig in there. I heard it screamed in agony. "She did not forget the cries for help from the animals, but later she drew consequences and renounced meat." I want to live in peace with the animals, "she says.
And then this incident six years ago, so far her most difficult situation as a vegetarian: A man stood in the door. He wanted to thank her. She had given him many things in a budget resolution. He did not have any money, but he wanted to give her something and make her happy. He shoved a bag into her hand, a skinned rabbit in it.
"It looked so terrible, I could not take it," says Irmela Erckenbrecht. The man did not understand her reaction, he was offended, still asked "Why do not you want my rabbit?". She wondered feverishly if she could not give the rabbit away. Nobody remembered. "That was terrible for both of us," she says.
Simone secretly ate hamburgers
It happened two or three times: secretly Simone (34, freelance journalist) went to McDonald's or Burger King in the evening after the disco and ate a hamburger. She was in her early twenties and since the age of fifteen, apart from these exceptions, she has not touched any meat, despite the protest of her parents. "I fought some fights with them. That's why I could not admit to them that I fainted, " tells Simone.
Forgoing meat was fashionable with her alternative classmates at the end of the eighties. But most of them stopped after a year: "I was one of the few who stayed through," she says. As a child, Simone had a cuddly sheep, so lamb never touched her. She also did not like chicken, because the animal could still be recognized. As a teenager, she dealt with animal husbandry and slaughter - and then wanted to eat no more meat. That is still the case today.
How does she do that now, as the wife of a passionate butcher and mother of two daughters? "My big daughter likes to eat sausages, meatballs or spaghetti bolognese, which is what my husband cooks most of the time," says Simone. Often there are also pizza or casserole in the family, the half is then only stocked with vegetables, the other also with ham.
For Simone, this is straightforward: "I'm not an eco-vegetarian who cooks with millet all the time. We often have noodle, potato and rice dishes, and then we can and want to eat friends who are not vegetarians. "Of course, legumes and tofu are also there, because of the nutrients and because it tastes good If her husband has eaten a steak, she kisses him anyway - without first sending him to brush his teeth.
During the two pregnancies inquiries from worried relatives and colleagues came more frequently. Above all the older ones inquired, whether they would have considered that with the meat renouncement also well. She explained that meat does not contain anything that can not be consumed elsewhere, and so the topic was usually done. For safety's sake she asked her doctor anyway. He saw no problem whatsoever, especially as her blood levels were all right.
Monika B. Feil has soya tiramisu
Monika B. Feil is a vegan, her father has learned butchers
Vegan diet is complicated? Not for Monika B. Feil. The 42-year-old knows how to help - even if she comes home hungry at 10 pm and it has to be fast: "Finished tofu burgers from the health food store also taste cold", she says. She is familiar with organic products and has worked in the organic sector for a long time. She now works for the animal welfare organization Peta. Monika B. Feil cooks a lot herself, especially pasta, potatoes and vegetables in all variations. The alternative: "You can also simply take known recipes, such as goulash or hamburger, and then replace the meat with soybean shrimp".
And what does she do when tempting Tiramisu at a party? Will she not be tempted then? "I love Tiramisu," she says - but she keeps her fingers off the normal version with egg and mascarpone. She has come up with a tiramisu recipe with a cream made from soy yoghurt, soya cream cheese and silk tofu.
As a teenager, Monika B. Feil began to disgust herself with meat. At first she was eating meatballs, they did not look so much like meat. Schnitzel or goulash did not bring her down - as a farmer's daughter. The father has a butcher educationEvery year a pig was slaughtered on the farm for the family. For him, it was a personal insult that his daughter did not want to eat meat anymore. After all, it was his job to fatten animals that were later slaughtered. "When I was ill, my dad always told me to eat meat because I did not have the proteins," says Monika B. Feil.
On the next page: "There are only animal rods here"
Nevertheless, she has been eating vegetarian food for over 20 years because she does not want animals to die for her, and also because meat is a "rotting something" in her eyes. She has been vegan for a good year, so she does not use dairy products, eggs and honey. At first she was unsure if she would get enough vitamin B12. She checks her blood levels on a regular basis, they are fine - but she knows that vitamin B12 deficiency often does not occur for many years, as the body can store this vitamin for a long time. But the subject has been relativized for her since she knows that meat eaters can suffer from B12 deficiency and meat is not a panacea.
"It has become much easier to eat vegan food," she says. The offer has become bigger, even in the normal supermarket. Nevertheless, it does not always work: Once she was with acquaintances at an event, first a play was shown, then there was food. She went to the barbecue booth and asked for grilled vegetables. There was only sausage - or cake from the neighboring booth. She was hungry for something hearty and decided to go home to eat there. "There are only animal rods here"she explained to her acquaintance.
If she is invited to dinner, she has no problem, sometimes only to eat side dishes. Fries for example. But she keeps her hands off croquettes and noodles - because of the milk in the croquettes and because she does not know if there are eggs in the noodles. As a vegetarian, she had an easier time, as she regularly ate cheese, for example. Why then switch to the stricter vegan diet? Monika B. Feil realized that cows only give milk because they gave birth to a calf. The milk is taken away from them, the calf only gets milk powder. She says, "I do not want to support that."
Recipe soy tiramisu
Here is the recipe for the vegan tiramisu by Ms. Feil:
Ingredients:
- 250g sweet vegan biscuits (eg from "Summer", "Allos")
- about 200ml espresso / strong (cereal) coffee (eg "Vogel", "Bauck", "Café Pino")
- 500 g of soy yoghurt (eg"Provamel")
- 220 g soy cream cheese (eg "Tofutti", "Sheese")
- 40 g of sugar
- ground cocoa (eg "Naturata")
preparation
Boil coffee and let cool. Mix the soy yoghurt, soy cream cheese and sugar in a round bowl with a whisk well. Cover the bottom of a flat bowl (eg casserole dish) with a layer of biscuits. Drizzle so much coffee over the biscuit layer that it is completely absorbed. Spread a thin layer of cream over the biscuits. Cover the cream layer with biscuits. Layer the cream and biscuits alternately until everything is used up, the last layer is cream. Cover the tiramisu and let soak in the fridge for several hours. Dust with ground cocoa before serving.
Note: All ingredients are available in the bio store (or at least can be there).
