The Times Newsletter The Veggie Isn’t Just For Vegetarians


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Tejal Rao, California restaurant critic of The New York Times, Saved a fridge full of veggie Muppets from the ’70s This month to help her announce her new vegetarian newsletter on Twitter—and her followers can’t get enough of the dull kale, corn, carrots, and coconuts on the shelves.

This is the inviting spirit that Ms. Rao hopes to bring to her newsletter, vegetable, debuted last week and comes out every Thursday. It’s part of The Times’ effort to serve readers who want to eat more veggies.

In a chat, Ms. Rao discussed her ambitions for the newsletter, explained some of the rejected headlines, and revealed the only vegetable she couldn’t stand.

You are an omnivor – when did you start eating vegetarian food?

I’ve eaten vegetarian food all my life. Both of my parents used to cook a lot at home and were probably vegetarian at least a few times a week – a Gujarati-style dal with rice and a veggie or two, or something more French or Italian made around dried lentils and starches and seasonal vegetables. Meat and seafood were part of the week, but not essential at every meal and not always at the center of the meal.

How has your diet changed during the pandemic process?

I bought much less meat and fish when the supply chain broke down. I signed up for a fortnightly farm box delivery and cooked mostly vegetables, and that really reoriented me as a cook.

Vegetarian recipe views on NYT Cooking are up nearly 50 percent from last year. Did the idea for this newsletter precede the pandemic or was it born out of a surge in interest in vegetarian content?

My editors have been talking about posting more vegetarian recipes for years, and the newsletter is something I’ve wanted The Times to do for a long time, but this data still works because it shows an instant appetite for the job.

Is the newsletter aimed at longtime vegetarians or people who are not vegetarians but want to add more vegetables to their diet?

It’s for anyone interested. But I have to admit, I particularly like the idea of ​​convincing people who think they’ve never been interested in vegetarian food that it’s delicious, that it’s available, that it’s just too much for them.

Was it always called The Veggie?

One of the rejected titles was Totally Herbaceous, which didn’t go very far because it was too long and too silly, and no one liked it. We all loved The Veggie right away – it just felt warm, friendly and inviting. And the idea came from Owen Dodd, an engineer who worked on The Veggie in its early days. Many of the downvoted names just didn’t feel right as they evoked diet culture in a petty, sneaky way, and I certainly didn’t want to do that—Veggie is not about abstinence, it’s about feasting.

Is there still a social stigma associated with being a vegetarian?

I think it depends on where you are, who you spend time with, and what you have access to, but I find that very misguided and very boring.

It looks like The Times is adding more vegetarian recipes to its coverage these days. Is this the case?

We publish fewer meat recipes than we used to, and the number of vegetarian recipes will continue to grow.

You’re based on the West Coast. How does California’s vegetarian scene compare to New York’s?

There’s a really vibrant vegetarian and vegan scene here, from baking to cheese making to fast food. I reported a little – I wrote piece about vegan taquerias last year. But the really exciting thing is that it just isn’t here.

Confession time: Is there a vegetable you really dislike?

Something about raw bell pepper, its flavor and juiciness, is a bit repulsive to me. I love them cooked though! Not just raw.

Oh no! They are my favorite vegetables!

Why?

They burst with crunchy, juicy goodness. The orange and yellow ones are the best.

No. [Laughs]


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