Do you remember this hilarious ad from the 80s? Where's the beef?

Hello ,

Thanks for all the birthing day wishes last week! I agree that mothers should actually be the ones to be celebrated on the day of their kids' births. The things our bodies survive in those last hours—or days—of hosting mini-me's.

Number One Son came home for a small dinner and stayed the night. His brother managed to make time to attend—it only took the promise of a one-inch thick steak on the BBQ.

The boys—ahem, young men—said that Mr. Bloom cooked it to perfection. They agreed that it was the best steak they've ever had.

I wouldn't know since I don't eat cow. Beef has not crossed my lips since the day I moved into my own place at 18. Mom says I never liked it, even as a kid—burgers, meatballs, steak, none of it.

What happens when a vegetarian falls in a love with a meatarian...

When I met Mr. Bloom, I'd been a vegetarian for twenty years, which was exactly half my life at that point. Mr. Bloom was what he called a meatatarian—the only veg he ate were carrots, potatoes and lettuce.

Now, Mr. Bloom lived in a tiny village about an hour from the city where I lived. His parents lived three houses down the road from him. Mr. Bloom, his son, mom and dad had family dinners every Friday and Saturday, prepared by his German father.

Once I started to spend weekends in the village, my son and I were warmly welcomed to these family dinners. My son was thrilled to get meaty dinners (since the only animals I cooked were salmon and chicken) and Mr. Bloom's dad was gracious, always preparing a vegetarian option for me.

Until the day he he decided he'd had enough of my "picky eating."

He'd made pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots. He placed placed a plate on the table in front of me. Instead of a veggie burger, which would have been the normal meat replacement, I had two slices of pork.

Before I could say anything, he said two words, "It's vegetarian." And then he turned to get another plate.

My twenty-year commitment to not eating meat hadn't been political. I'd become a vegetarian because I didn't like the taste of meat. As a university student, meat was expensive so it was easy to avoid it. And by the time I could afford to buy meat, I had no idea how to prepare it and no drive to learn...

So I ate the pork tenderloin that was prepared with love by a 75-year-old German man. And... it... was... delicious! Best. Meal. Ever!

My slide back to being a choosey omnivore was quick because the one meat I had missed as a vegetarian was bacon... mmm... bacon. I'll never forget the first time I ordered a veggie burger with bacon. I had to tell the waitress three times that yes, I wanted the vegetarian burger option with the smokey delicious bacon as an add-on.

I still can't stand beef. Not even the smell of it on a BBQ.

But put a pork chop, or a slice of pork tenderloin, or some pulled pork, or a pork sausage, or... you get the idea... on my plate and I am a happy, happy diner!

What's your "forced to eat a food you didn't want to eat" story?

We must all have at least one of those stories. Mr. Bloom's memorable food story involves being 'tricked' to eat zucchini which was disguised as a spaghetti noodles under a tomato sauce!

In the spirit of sharing meaty new flavors...

It's a sunny Saturday morning on the Pacific West Coast. I've just eaten a lovely cheese omelette with bacon (of course!) and a side of dolmades... Mr. Bloom always likes to put something surprising on our Saturday morning plates...

I hope you have a lovely weekend and can indulge in something delicious—be it a good book or a good meal or both!

love & baconbitsstuff,

Danika

xo