His best mate was always telling him to go vegetarian.
They were both single, both living in rentals in the city and often met for lunch. Mostly vegetarian places, naturally. Eventually, mainly to shut him up, he said he’d give it a go. Although to some degree he did wonder what it would be like. His mate explained what he could and couldn’t eat. There would be all manner of fruit and vegetables, of course. There was rice, beans, nuts; the list went on. He was delighted with the idea that potatoes were a goer. He was told about all the other things he could eat, but he kept thinking about potatoes. He had always liked chips… really, really liked chips.
Then, as they talked some more he discovered that bread was OK. He was told that bread was a grain-based food and many other ingredients found in bread were also plant-based, this instantly expanded the variety of food he could prepare. Then came the information that most margarines contain absolutely no animal products. As if this wasn’t enough, it dawned on him without his mate telling him, that tomato sauce was all right too. His friend agreed, saying that because regular ketchup is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, it’s hunky dory. He thanked his friend, saying that he was willing to give it a go.
At the end of the working day he called at the shops on his way to his flat and bought several very large bags of potatoes. When he got in, he opened the food cupboard and stood staring at it for several minutes before pulling everything out. It was all spread across the counter top. Anything that was not vegetarian would go. If it had been opened it went straight into the bin. Unopened items would be donated to the local food bank. Among the food stuff remaining, he had vegetarian oil for cooking, tomato sauce and salt.
He made a list.
He could have fried chips, with or without tomato ketchup or salt. He could have bread and margarine as a side dish. He could fold chips into slices of bread to make chip butties, with or without sauce, usually with.
How long could it last? He didn’t know but he’d give it a damn good try!
