Day 20 (Can’t
believe almost three weeks!!!)
Breakfast –
As I write this, I am thoroughly enjoying a couple of Ancient Grains waffles
with Smart Balance spread and maple syrup and a café con almond leche.
Thank
you! Thank you! Thank you for all the wonderful comments,
suggestions and support you have sent. I
have received recipe ideas, links, encouragement and even a few questions. By the way, thanks for pointing out that I
overuse my exclamation! points! A LOT!!! It’s just the way my excited brain works, all
righty?!
One
particular question had me pondering:
Why is it called a “Cuban” vegan’s journey? Isn’t it the same for all? Well, actually, no. I endeavored to explain that I believe the
journey is different because of the Cuban Food Rules. (Not said in the same tone as: San Dimas High
School Football RULES! Although, Cuban
food totally does RULE.) (Bonus points
for you few 80’s kids that got that reference.)
Being a
vegan flies directly in the face of how Cubans eat. Cubans have rules that are to be followed at
every meal, especially if it is a home-cooked meal. There may be exceptions for weddings and
certain restaurants, but at home, it is All-Cuban All-the-Time. I suspect these rules are common with most
meat-centric cultures, but since I’m Cuban, this is all I am technically qualified
to pontificate upon.
The Cuban
Food Rules:
1. Meat must be 2/3 or more of the meal. Acceptable substitution: Spanish omelet with chorizo.
2. Side dishes are just a vehicle for
the meat. Example, in Arroz con Pollo,
the rice is only there to contain the chicken and sop up its juices so nothing
is wasted. In the event you made Arrroz
Imperial, it is also there to hold the cheese/ham/mayo layer on top.
3. Green Vegetables come from cans and
are a garnish: peas and asparagus. See
#2.
4. Salad is acceptable but it is
comprised of 2-3 leaves of Iceberg lettuce, 1-2 slices of overripe tomatoes and
occasionally, a slice of onion. It can only be topped by oil and vinegar. It may contain avocado, in season, and from
the back yard. No those tiny black ones
from California. They are unacceptable and
a waste of time.
5. Acceptable vegetable sources are starchy
and generally white: white potatoes,
yucca, malanga, boniato, plantain. Also
acceptable if bathed in oil and onions:
Cuban pumpkin.
6. Any other vegetables must be canned
(corn, Veg-All) or fried: eggplant, ripe
plantain,
7. Beans are a necessary staple, like
water. They are neither meat nor
vegetable but, with the exception of black beans, are also vehicles for
meat. Black beans must be served with
rice and a meat.
8. Breakfast shall contain milk (café con
leche) and bread made with lard, slathered with butter. It should also contain eggs and a fried meat
product.
9. American pumpkin is solely for
decoration and for Americans to make pie.
Orange sweet potatoes are an anomaly of nature and can’t possibly be
good for you.
10. Desserts follow every meal and must
contain 2 or more of the following: dairy,
eggs, abundant sugar.
These rules
stand in stark contrast to the standard American Gringo diet. Americans have entire government agencies employing
thousands of people who do nothing but tell Americans how they should eat. These agencies have developed food charts, slogans,
pyramids, color-coded plate diagrams complete with their own website http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ , all to
demonstrate the ideal “balanced diet”. Cubans
believe in a balanced diet. They
consider it balanced when they use a plate large enough that the piled-on food,
on top of the large mounds of meat, doesn’t topple over. Now that’s balance!
True
story: a friend (non-Cuban) had a
culture shock when her new Cuban husband came home one day with what she
considered a serving platter. For their
wedding, she had registered for beautiful place settings with standard 10”
dinner plates. So, after three months of
wedded bliss, her husband went home to his mama and picked up the “plato” he
had used growing up. (Incidentally, she
also found out that he had been going to Mami’s house to eat after work before
getting home, where he would eat again.)
Apparently, the lovely and elegant dinner plates were too small for his Cuban
“balance”, and the double dinners ended once he had his plate.
One of my
dearest friends (Cuban) also had a bit of a culture shock when she married an
American gentleman. At dinner with her
family, he only took one small pork chop.
One. She double blinked. She usually took two (and she is a tiny
thing), and the male members of her family usually ate three or more. Her new husband filled his plate with side
dishes and was the only one to eat an entire bowl of iceberg lettuce with
tomatoes.
I am pretty
certain if you took that little pork chop away, he would have adjusted nicely with
his side dishes and salad. There’s the
fundamental difference with the Cuban vegan experience. Taking away all meat, dairy and egg related
items from the Cuban diet leaves us with a sad leaf of lettuce. Not an appetizing prospect.
Yet, my
journey gets easier and yummier with all your help and support. Please post in the comments any other Cuban
Rules that I might have missed, or any food rules from your cultural back
ground.