Hangry. So hungry you are Angry.

My dad always said he would have to kill any guy who hurt me and broke my heart. What he never planned for was when that same guy would break his heart, too. My dad mourned for my breakup. He was upset and missed my ex just like me, but he never once tried to pretend that things were going to be easy nor did he feed me the traditional lines about being too good or meeting someone better. My dad simply hugged me and said that the only thing that can help is time and he promised me that any guy would be lucky to be with me. (Dad made sure not to say "have"- he is a feminist, after all).

My mom, meanwhile, did try to make me smile by asking the cat if he would maim my ex for me. "Tuxedo, you'll claw his eyes out for Mara, won't you?" (See Tuxedo's response below).

Both of my parents are great, and they both taught me how to cook and bake. My mom knew about baking breads and pie crusts and how to make sure you didn't over beat your egg whites. Dad taught me how to throw together a great soup and freeze my tomato paste. Together they made sure my lunch as a kid was a PBJ and an oatmeal cookie and not a Snack Pack and Fruit Roll-ups. (Oh, lord, how I wanted my parents to buy Snack Packs and Fruit Roll-ups!)

When I was really young, maybe 10, I decided all on my own that I was going to become a vegetarian and over night I cut out meat, cold turkey. Literally. My family never ate a lot of meat to start with so it wasn't that huge of a change, but I do remember that my parents supported my choice 100%. When my dad would make turkey he would always make sure to have something else prepared for me. My mom would attempt to educate me on nutrition and vitamins and still does today.

I don't walk around as if being a vegetarian is my identity, but it is part of it. As a kid I didn't want animals to have to suffer so I could eat them, and I still don't. I understand other people have a different mentality about meat and that is fine -- I don't preach or ridicule, but I would hope that if people do eat meat they know where it's coming from and what is in it, then make their own decisions.

What I find funny is the reaction I get when people find out I'm a vegetarian. It's usually something along the lines of "What's wrong with you?" "What do you eat for Thanksgiving?" Or "You just need a good steak!"

It doesn't bother me, I just continue to watch them devour my vegetarian dishes and I don't look back.

I didn't persuade my ex to always eat vegetarian, but we usually did and he was a good sport about it for the most part. I was hoping he would eventually realize that he didn't need to eat meat to be happy or healthy, but in the end I realize it wasn't about the decisions my ex made, but about the decisions of mine that he supported.

So tonight I put my take on a classic meat dish: Shepherd's Pie. Just another thing that is probably fine with meat, but even better without. There are a lot of things in life that are fine enough, but why waste your time if they aren't great?

VEGETARIAN root vegetable and lentil Shepherd's Pie:

Instead of beef I use lentils and fill the dish full of root vegetables and an amazing vegetarian broth. Top with fresh mashed potatoes and this thing is good.