So we have a daughter who’s vegan, and Charlie asked her, “What do you EAT?”

Daughter and I just looked at each other before she answered him, “Vegetables. Grains. Beans. Fruit. Nuts. Eggs from my chickens. A little organic cheese.”

You’ll be proud to hear that I did NOT say, “The same things we eat.” I really did not say it. I deserve a medal. I mean, yeah, sometimes we fall off the turnip wagon and split a sausage patty, and I’ll eat anything that doesn’t run fast enough, but mostly we just don’t happen to meatify these days.

It’s weird. I was always like, “Vegans are so weird. There’s nothing to eat, if you don’t eat meat.” But most of what humans eat is not meat. What do you have for Thanksgiving? Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie. If you take away the meat, what’s left? EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE MEAT.

A Hearty Salad

Anyway, we had this hearty salad the other day. I used to think a salad was lettuce and tomato. Nothing else. Life with Charlie has taught me to get creative with salads and now I can make a meal fit for a longshoreman off of them.

Here’s the one we had: raw broccoli, sweet red bell peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, and vegan chicken-flavored strips (made of seitan, which is a wheat product). Delicious, and pretty, too.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A father and daughter disagree about diet.

MA