Hi biwako - I have been a vegetarian for 16+ years. Back then it was very hard to find good veggie food. Now days the possibilities are endless. IÂm not very familiar with tempeh. I do like tofu when itÂs fried. I like standard recipes like tacos, chili, chicken dishes, meatloaf, etc. I just donÂt like the idea of eating meat. We are now able to buy soy based "chicken, steak strips, ground beef, turkey, shrimp, BBQ ribs, hot dogs, bacon, sausage" and more. Were we live in CA all of these meat substitutes are available at all regular grocery stores in the freezer section. Morning Star Farms makes most of what I mentioned. Gardenburger now makes more than just patties. I donÂt want to sound like a walking billboard, but if anyone is trying to eat less meat, but still wants to eat their favorite recipes, I suggest giving these substitutes a try. The taste and texture is practically identical to the real thing. DH is not a vegetarian, and likes them all. Will you please send me the tempeh directions? IÂd like to try it. Thanks. Nina

Thanks, everybody! I didn't think of it from a food safety point of view, and also didn't know what would happen texturally. Linda, that does not sound pleasant, and I'm glad to learn from your experience! I won't do it. Since my helpers are uncertain, I think I'll just make something else. Fawnridge, browning that many could take at least an hour, and I'm going to have so much to do, I don't know if I'll have time. ... Though.... Since I'd rather brown in the pan they'll be cooked in, I could try browning in the center of the roasting pan. I might be able to do six at a time that way. My kitchen will do most anything, but don't have a double burner that would work with it, just a big induction element. Veda Beeps, I appreciate your opinion, but I've made this recipe several times and it is certainly NOT better rewarmed. Still good, but not as good as the first day. I will say though that the short ribs I've gotten from my butcher are much leaner than others I've seen. Still rich, but I never get a scrapeable layer of fat they way I do with brisket.

maifleur, my meat processor doesn't buy any animals and process them himself or even raise his own, he only processes meat for people who raise their own and then pay him to process it to their specifications. So, if I sell you half a beef, I call Carl and tell him that I have a beef coming, half of it belongs to Maifleur and then you call and tell him how you want it packaged. I have people come to the farm specifically to see "their" animal and the living conditions before they commit to buying beef. And, by using a custom slaughter facility, I can confidently tell them that the animal they see is the animal they will get back, because Carl has no animals of his own, only those who are raised by and packaged for other people. Those of us who have done business with him for years, and with his father before him, know and trust him. As for migrants and immigrants, Michigan is the 2nd most agriculturally diverse state in the country, behind only California, so those of us in agriculture are acutely aware of the importance and value of those workers and how difficult it is to even find enough of them to work. When I was a teenager one of my summer jobs was picking cherries for 40 cents a lug. I have also picked asparagus, pickles, apples and tomatoes. Today's teenagers don't want to do that, and more jobs such as fast food service are available to them today that were not available to me. There has been years when apples rotted on the trees and cherries became over ripe because there were not enough workers to pick them and the food pantries can only glean/store so much fresh produce. Annie

I lover nitrates and nitrites used on my meat! It's converted into nitric Oxide and helps with brain function and blood flow. Excess nitric Oxide is then converted to Nitrate and passed in the urine. If there is NITRITES in your urine it means nitrate is being converted into NITRITES and indicates a urinary track infection, and will cause frequent trips to the toilet with reduced flow. The only bacteria I know that converts nitrates to NITRITES is in the dirt, not the body. It's not the meat, nitrates or nitrites causing your problem, so you need to see a doctor about it. There are a couple of other issues I won't mention because I'm not a doctor but both are serious so ask you doctor! Protein is processed with UREA removed as a waste product , which is removed by the kidneys into the urine stream, but I do not believe it would be drastic enough to get you up 5 times a night. Ask your doctor. I know people using the keto and caveman diets and never had problems from excess urination. I do think when you eat vegetables you don't consume enough protein anyway to compare the two sources of protein. Protein is protein regardless where it comes from and processed the same way. To get your daily requirements of protein form vegetables you'd need to eat almost 8 cups of green peas, do you do this, or something comparable? Ask Lilly, who's been a vegetarian for ever and it's not eating a salad and calling it a day. It takes a lot of knowledge and work to live off rabbit food and still live. The body is a marvelous chemical processing plant but you need to know what to dump into your stomach to get what you need.