G.T.V.P.

My cleanse is done! Yay! Felt good to do it, and feels good to end it! Now I feel fresh and detoxed!

Okay - so - one of the things that I knew I would miss as a vegetarian is my hubby's family's tradition of Garlic Pork at Christmas and Easter, or "G.P." as they call it. It's not just pork with some garlic seasoning - oh no - its cubes of pork, marinated in a mixutre of vinegar, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt and scotch bonnet peppers (aka - HOT!!) for anywhere from 5 to 7 days!! It sits in the marinade on a counter and soaks up the heat and vinegar. You may think it sounds crazy - but it tastes soooooooooooooo good! (after the setting period, it's boiled, then broiled, and eaten with tasty Anise seed bread - ahh - just thinking about it now makes me smile...

However, I don't want to eat poor wittle piggy's anymore, but I also didn't want to miss out on the G.P.! So - I invented a veggie version of it! With TVP, or textured vegetable protein! They look like dog treats when they're hard (appetizing eh?) ... but they soak up the flavour of whatever liquid they're immersed into, and become softer with a 'chewy' texture. They look just like pieces of pork tenderloin medallians would look. So I gave it a shot - prepared the marinade - put in the TVP medallians - let it sit for about 24 hours - and voila!! G.T.V.P.!

I was a little scared to try it. After broiling it until it browned on the edges....I gave it a try...and... I liked it! Granted - it's not as good as G.P. - but Rich tried it too, and his words....??..."It's not horrible!".

So there you go - a little imagination and creativity and I can still enjoy Christmas and Easter with my in-laws -- even though I'm sure I will be subject to some roasting at the table!