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| Who can resist this beautiful, colorful tajine filled with only vegetables, potatoes, chick peas and dried fruits |
In Italy they love their food traditions. Even now in these days
many ‘intruders’
(successfully) compete with the local
cooks, the Italians will never forget about their roots. And their roots are
the (poor) farmers kitchen where everything which is available is eaten. Also
meat.
But traditions are to develop and slowly change to become
new traditions. It seems now that one of them is about to develop: the
vegetarian kitchen. Italians which decide to leave the meat a cow (or a chicken
or a pig,….) and fully go for the vegetables. Which are diverse, tasteful and
locally available thanks to the countries beautiful climate.
The reason or the Italians to eat only vegetables are diverse
and don’t seem to have anything to do with the current economic crisis. It is
explained as ‘the people want to live a more healthy lifestyle’ full of sport,
green holidays, attention for the environment and respect for the animals on
this planet’. A new generation of Italians has traveled the world (or at least
Europe) and took inspiration and actions from what they have seen going on
there.
Last weekend I’ve again learned
that I am a Dutch girl, grown up in a specific culture where not only the traditions
but also the future plays an important role in my choices. Making dishes
without meat is a normal for me as brushing my teeth twice a day. But also I’ve
learned that my meat consumption isn’t as low as I might want too. Since more
than once a week I take a sandwich with meat. And even when it is nothing
compared to a 150gram whatever on the dinner table, it also is meat which also
needs to grow, be slaughtered and transported before it finally ends up on the
bakers bread.
It was a perfect weekend, relaxed
and critical. To repeat…..
