Happy Thanksgiving!
Ours is a ’mostly vegetarian’ Thanksgiving because everything is vegan, except for…come closer so I can whisper…except for the turkey in the kitchen, and it’s not the one pardoned by President Obama today.
Our annual family gathering of vegetarians (nothing with a face, but will eat dairy), vegans (no animal products/no harm to animals–my mom even suggested birth control powder for the roach motels in college-not that we had bugs) and carnivores, offers an interesting parallel to cross cultural communications.
We are all distinct in our preferences–it is innate to each of us. But, as a hostess, I want my invited guests to feel welcome in my home.
Plus the diversity of palates only adds to the fun of selecting the menu to host Thanksgiving…Cornbread stuffing (substituting vegetable broth, veggie sausage for the sausage, baked in the oven); sweet potatoes and greens, mac & cheese cassarole (that one is lacto-ovo–I draw the line at soy cheese), green bean cassarole, Mama Stamburg’s Cranberry Relish, and cakes and cupcakes and pumpkin pie.
Egg replacer (available at Whole Foods or a natural food market) is easy to bake with, and is actually better for licking the bowl, since there won’t be fear of contamination from raw eggs. And the Tofurky or veggie roast offers a vegetarian alternative to our contraband turkey.
I’ve heard people say “I could never be vegetarian.” And while I haven’t chosen to yet, it’s really not that hard. Just as one might attempt to learn and adapt to another culture, there are oodles of literature and websites. For the Thanksgiving meal, it may be as simple as switching from butter (animal fat) to margarine (vegetable oil), from chicken to vegetable broth, only putting marshmallows (made from bone marrow) on half of the sweet potatoes.
And the good news is (again, a parallel to diversity in the workplace, where good ideas and benefits might come from anyone in the group–not just the majority culture) that these little changes saved a good 100 grams of fat from the meal.
So I can feel good about myself when I go for a third helping.
What are your traditions? What is the diversity you find within your own family? How do you (or do you?) accommodate it?
Photo credit Whole Foods Union Square turkey cupcake
Originally uploaded by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake
On December 11th, 2009 at 3:47 pm Angela said:
I’m a vegetarian and I loved how you made this concept relate to diversity.
My family refuses to eat artificial meat (i.e. veggie sausage) but my mother is always gracious enough to make plenty of meat-less side dishes so I can walk away just as stuffed as everyone else after Thanksgiving dinner.
My brother (and others) make fun of me because I won’t eat turkey on such a traditional American turkey-eating day. I never try to convince others to do as I do, but I find myself struggling to deal with those people that feel it’s necessary to convince me that I’m wrong.
And as it relates to diversity, we can’t walk around telling others that our ways are superior. This ethnocentric view only raises more boundaries to cross-cultural understanding (even if it is only between meat-eaters and veggie lovers)!
Ps. I met you at the CEO Conference 2009, loved your breakout session and was thrilled to find you on Twitter, which lead me here. I look forward to reading more of your blog.
On December 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pm Deanna said:
Hi, Angela
Thanks so much for your comment, for attending the conference, and for reconnecting via Twitter!
I always find it curious that someone would feel teh need to voice an opinion about what someone else is putting into their body (in terms of non veg’s commenting on a veg’s diet.) That’s the time you want to remember that “is about them, not about you!”
Thanks, too, for the link to interculturaltalk.org from your blog. By they way, and there’s nothing wrong with being a self-proclaimed nerd, but I don’t recall nerds looking quite so stylish with a Martini!
(ooh-note to self, Martini’s are vegetarian…add to menu for next year!)