No It's Not!

I really shouldn't watch so many cooking shows.  I think about food far too often as it is.  And then you have the problem that 99.9% of the shows involve meat-based dishes so I either start thinking of ways to make them vegetarian or I start thinking about how unfortunate it is that there aren't enough vegetarian dishes on cooking shows.  Or I think about how absolutely disgusting that stuff on TV is.  Let's face it, some of that junk is absolutely ridiculous.

Anyhow, every once in awhile there is a gem.  Somebody decides to feature a meatless meal.  I dance in my seat for a moment before I realize what is wrong with the episode.

Yes, I always find some flaw.  I'm overly critical like that.  I'm trying to improve myself.

Take the episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals that I saw today.  Portobello mushroom hoagies.  That sounds interesting to me.  Leave off the cheese and I'm good.  But then she gets down to it and starts actually making the hoagies, marinade first.

What is in the marinade?  None other than Worcestershire sauce.  I'm sorry, but Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian.  It would have been all fine and dandy had she not gone off on a this-would-be-great-to-serve-to-your-vegetarian-friends schpeel.  No.  It would not.  


This vegetarian's enemy of a sauce contains anchovies.  Anchovies are fishes.  That is very un-vegetarian.  Yes, I rant.  Yes, I complain.  I do not complain about Ms. Ray alone.  She is not the only one.  


But instances such as this raise questions.  What do restaurants use to marinate their mushrooms?  Do we have to start asking everyone what ingredients they use before we order or eat?  Is food going to become even more of an issue that it already is and should not be?  


ACK!


There are vegan versions of Worcestershire sauce in health food and fine food stores, but I've never bothered to purchase them.  I hear much of the flavor of the original version comes from the fish anyhow.  I could be wrong.  


But the moral of my story is, even professional chefs don't always know what they're talking about and it is quite irksome.  Makes me want to write some letters.