RouletteWeekend

I’ve been mostly vegetarian for over a decade. I quit/lessened my consumption of meat products after years of migraine headaches. I read an article that said that high fructose corn syrup could be the cause. I did a one week experiment and stopped eating anything with high fructose corn syrup in it. That essentially meant no sodas and no ultra processed sweets. After a week, I was headache free. It was a weird feeling waking up with the absence of pain. After that I became very aware of all the things I was putting in my body. As I started moving more towards GMO free and organic foods, meat became the target of my obsession. I watched documentaries about big agriculture and factory farms. I saw the damage it was doing to the environment and I made a choice to not be a part of it. So I chose to only eat meat from local farmers, which over time has gotten more and more expensive but even at that time, I could not really afford to eat meat every day. And when I stopped, I didn’t really miss it.

Over the years I’ve eaten meat here and there. Maybe once a month. I’ve always said I wanted my body to be able to process meat so when the time comes and I get to travel the world, I can eat all the local staples even if they have meat in them. As I’ve grown, I’ve kind of outgrown that thinking. I do believe no matter where in the world I go, I can enjoy the local food culture without meat.

And then I moved into this house…Will’s mom’s house. The house that believes that every single meal should come with a main portion of meat and carbs and vegetables should only be an optional (and occasional) side.

As the main cook in the house and, honestly, usually, the only cook in the house, I have tried to accommodate her every wish, whim, and desire. And I was happy to do so until this most recent turn of events where we were trying to sell her house to downsize the living space and the financial burden and she turned into Regan MacNeil from the exorcist throwing things at us and stomping around like she’d been possessed because she didn’t want to leave her house and then watching as Pazuzu quietly left her body when we told her that we were going to stay in her house because there has been too much deferred maintenance over the years to sell it without having to give it away.

So now things are the way they were when we first arrived. I’m back to being the caregiver aka the maid, the dog nanny, the cook, the night nurse, the maintenance man, the yard guy and whatever else is needed while Will is out trying to make money by way of real estate and Uber driving.

Yesterday, I may have reached my breaking point. I went to the store for a few things…bananas, bread, cold & flu medicine because Will has been sick for a couple of days and I decided it was a nice cool day, fall is in the air, and chili might be nice.

So I grabbed all the ingredients, but when I got to the ground beef section, I realized that if I made traditional chili, I would not eat it and I was kind of feeling like chili would be good. So I made a quick U-turn to the frozen vegetarian section and bought some meatless crumbles to throw in the pot instead.

I came home and threw all the ingredients in the instapot and let it simmer for a couple hours before serving it to my very appreciative mother in law. She had no clue that she just ate a healthier, meat free version of her favorite winter dish and I was able to enjoy it. Will even had some and he didn’t know either.

And the petty little part of me that wanted to get back at her for being so mean to us over the last 3 months was quieted a little. I’m not a person who seeks revenge in the regular way. I guess I like my revenge served with a side of cornbread. I would never do anything to hurt her, but I am willing to make her healthier even if that means she lives even longer to be hateful to us…