What circle of hell is reserved for people who unintentionally serve meat to vegetarians?
This week I made my Grandma’s Imitation Chow Mein hotdish recipe, and it turned out really well. I also made a vegetarian version that replaced the ground beef with diced portobello mushrooms. Both versions turned out really well, and everybody liked it.
I had an “oh, shit!” moment later when I realized that the vegetarian version was not as advertised: one of the base ingredients in the hotdish is chicken noodle soup. You’d think having the word “chicken” there would clue me in, or perhaps the chicken broth or even the little pieces of chicken. ::thunks head on desk repeatedly::
Obviously, at this point, it’s a little too late to undo the damage, but it was just an honest (in the unthinking/unintentional sense) mistake.
I know some of you out there are vegetarians, so two questions: (1) How would you suggest I break the news? I was thinking something like “I want to apologize because I realized that the dish I cooked earlier this week actually contained meat in the form of chicken noodle soup. I just didn’t think.” (2) How would you react if someone told you that something you had eaten (and enjoyed!) had contained some meat?
::sigh:: Suggestions welcome.
You know me; perpetuating the omnivoranormative paradigm, one dish at a time.
“Sally Simpson” from Tommy by The Who
