Comments vary when individuals begin to describe their food habits; moving from the simple carnivore or vegetarian categories and split into subsets as people clearly define their dietary profile. One man even said to me the other day “Cho man, mi just nyam!” As he shared his frustration at the challenges involved in satisfying the myriad taste buds of his house guests. His job requires him to entertain a lot. I can empathise, because what was once a joy cooking for people can become more of a task and a juggle to please everyone’s tastes. However, I am very sensitive to people’s needs for all sorts of reasons, primarily where health and cultural issues are concerned. This is why I salute the catering profession, because it is quite challenging.

I am often asked if I am a vegetarian due to my advocacy of healthy eating. No, I am not, I have the utmost respect for the lifestyle, but I still crave animal flesh, just not on a daily basis. I am perfectly satisfied with meat-free meals as much as I love a good steak or lamb chops, which are now rare treats as I find I can’t digest red meat properly as I once did, so my reason for easing up on meat is related to health issues -certainly not because I don’t appreciate the way it tastes. My culinary profile is called flexitarianism. A flexitarian is one who goes mainly meat free, but occasionally indulges in meat, poultry and fish. I think, for myself, I have found a happy balance to deal with my food allergies. I often tell people that if I am not allergic to a particular food item, I will try it. I am a real foodie who will try anything at least once, and trust me, like Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods I have tried some strange things in my travels, insects anyone? I am already restricted by some allergies, so if I can try something new which I like and can expand my culinary repertoire I am going for it!

With food, it is not a one size fits all, so your friend’s dietary lifestyle may not work for you. So many factors affect the way people eat from economic to religious, to one’s metabolism. Food offers various examples of diversity. The wonderful thing these days is that people are breaking the rules of tradition and creating for themselves what pleases them and their palates. Another dietary status, which is growing in popularity is pescetarianism. A pescetarian is one who doesn’t eat meat or poultry, but solely fish and seafood. The weirdest, and I am sorry if I offend a practicing one reading this, is fruitarianism. A fruitarian only eats fruits. Whatever floats your boat I say, but as much as I love and eat fruits daily, I would go bonkers if that was all I ate.

At the end of the day, I respect everyone’s choice. What I cannot stand though is what I call the “food militants” from either side of the culinary fence. The ones who bully you if you eat meat or if you are not a vegan, telling you how bad it is for you and making you feel guilty as if you personally killed the animal, or those meat eaters who make fun of vegetarians and tell them they eat lettuce like rabbits or ridicule their lifestyle claiming that they can’t possibly be satisfied without meat. My response is simple: to each his/her own. Allow people to enjoy what they are comfortable eating. Yes, there are wise practices we must maintain to gain the optimum in health, but unless a person is eating themselves to death on daily junk food, I believe one does not have the right to intervene.

JuicyChef’s Vegetarian Flatbreads

The other day I had a serious pizza craving, but I was stuck at home with no car and no cash to order in, and then a friend rang me up to say they were stopping by and hungry. In a panic, I looked in my pantry and fridge and came up with this recipe, one of those “tek yuh han tun fashion” type of meals. I used lavash (a soft thin flatbread made with flour, water, yeast and salt) but you can also use pita bread as a base which are found in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets

Ingredients:

2 cans of butter beans, rinsed and drained

1 clove of garlic

1 small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

2 tbsps olive oil

1 red onion, sliced

Handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in halves

Handful of mushrooms, sliced

1 sweet pepper, deseeded and sliced

100g Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

2 whole grain lavashes

Red pepper flakes and dried oregano for garnish (optional)

Method:

Add sliced onion to a small non stick pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and sugar and slowly sautée for about 15 minutes until caramelised. Set aside.

In a food processor, puree butter beans with 1 tbsp olive oil, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400oF.

Top each lavash with the butter bean puree, and top with the caramelised onions, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers and mushrooms and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove and top with Cheddar cheese and bake for about two to three minutes more or until cheese has melted.

Sesame and Panko Encrusted Tofu

Craving crunchy fried chicken but you have given up meat? Try this Asian style recipe to satisfy your taste buds. Serve with vegetables on the side for a main or with a Scotch bonnet soy dip for a snack.

Ingredients:

1 standard block of tofu, prepared according to package directions and patted dry and sliced.

Marinade

125ml/ _ cup sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 cup Panko

1 tbsp Sesame seeds

Vegetable oil

Method:

Mix marinade ingredients and pour over tofu slices and allow to marinate for at least an hour.

Spread about a cup or more of Panko plus sesame seeds on a dish.

Press tofu slices gently into mixture and coat well on both sides.

In a large non-stick frying pan add vegetable oil over medium to high heat.

Fry slices until golden brown on each side.

Drain and serve immediately.

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Bon Appétit!