Sloppy Joes

I have this strange liking for certain meat products. The more disgusting the better. Sloppy joes, Slim Jims, Taco Bell crunchy tacos. Now that I'm not eating meat anymore, I'm not above pseudo-meat. This sloppy joe from Veganomicon magically transforms ingredients like lentils, tomato sauce, yellow mustard (?), and maple syrup (??) into something that does the trick. For me. Mr. Flossie claims to like it but would probably argue it isn't a bit like the real thing.

When I worked for a food editor, I once interviewed someone in the beef industry. He told me that a steak doesn't have any flavor on its own; it's the salt and fat that give it the flavor. I thought that was interesting. When I have cravings for specific foods, I try to break down what element I am actually craving. Salt, sugar, fat? Or am I just hungry? Usually I can divert the craving away from things I feel conflicted about—like, say, beef jerky. Of course the underlying issue is to break the addiction to salt, sugar, fat....but let's not get ahead of ourselves.