From Salads to Bulgogi

Tara Austen Weaver's The Butcher and the Vegetarian hits stores today

How does a former vegetarian make her foray into the meat-eating world, and live to write about it? For Tara Austen Weaver, author of The Butcher and the Vegetarian, the decision didn’t come easily, or even of her own accord. Years ago, the decision was essentially made for her when “multiple doctors, both mainstream and alternative, told me I needed to eat meat. I resisted for awhile, but I was feeling so ill that it began to seem stupid not to give it a try.” She documents her journey in The Butcher and the Vegetarian, and she admits she continues to have mixed feelings on the topic. For many people, meat is a passionate subject—one needs only to look to the trend of adding bacon to desserts to get a sense of how much our culture is infatuated with meat. And yet, despite making the leap, Weaver doesn’t regularly dive into a big steak at home. “I grew up vegetarian; I will always consume a lot of vegetables. But I can tell you that Eiko at Skagit River Ranch (at the U-District and Ballard farmer’s markets) has a recipe for Korean bulgogi that I love.”

And where does this vegetarian turned somewhat-reluctant meat eater like to eat in our fair city? “Right now I’m in love with the pizza my friends Brandon and Molly are making at Delancey. I also love the lasagna at Café Lago, and the chilaquiles at Senor Moose. As for meat, the steak tartare at Spring Hill is amazing. I love the lamb tibs at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant--sorry, keeping that one a secret!”

You can catch Weaver at her first public reading at the University Book Store on Feb. 8th at 7pm. You can also read more of Weaver’s writing at her blog, TeaandCookies.blogspot.com