Meat.

As a former vegan, pescavegetarian (no meat or dairy, except fish -- a short lunch break made the sushi place across from work semi-obligatory), and ovovegetarian, but currently an unapologetic meat lover, I've wondered how I can cut back on meat in a practical way -- still able to enjoy the occasional slice of bacon, without the side of guilt. Apparently, someone at the New York Times has been reading my mail -- this week saw publication of the article "Putting Meat Back In Its Place", which is basically a consumption guide for those of us who'd like a little less factory in our farm (or just feel guilty about eating so much meat, or whatever -- Mark Bittman lays out the irrelevancy of the readers' motives in the first paragraph), and are willing to cut back on the amount of flesh-based food in our diet.

Though longtime restricted-diet adherents will probably find most of the recommended steps to be old hat ("4. Buy more vegetables, and learn new ways to cook them"), there is an undercurrent in the article that demands we reconceptualize meat, perhaps think of it the way we're also being asked to think of fossil fuels -- something precious, a commodity not to be considered infinitely renewable, a luxury. I enjoyed the subtlety of Bittman's article. He's one of my favorite food writers, because he's never negative, just excited about coaxing his readers toward a positive, and that skill is displayed plainly in this week's article.

My favorite way to cut back on meat is to have vegan dinners at least once a week, which is surprisingly easy when you pool all the leftover veg from the meatier nights of the week. Throw the veg in a cast iron skillet, cook it down in a bit of wine or veg stock, throw it over couscous or quinoa, and add some pre-cooked garbanzos or lentils on top. Yum! And totally meat-free.

Of course, if I ever decide to return to my former meat-eschewing ways, I'll always have this to keep my palate happy.