Hi, I'm totally with you!
I became a veggie by accident really. I lived with someone who found she needed a high-fibre diet, we had vegetarians staying with us for a while, and I learned that my long-standing arthritis which, I was told, would put me in a wheelchair, might be alleviated by giving up red meat. Inside a fortnight, I was a convert. That was getting on for 35 years ago, and I've never felt the urge to relapse. And yes, my arthritis has been infinitely better.
At first, it was really difficult to find ready-prepared vegetarian food, though it's a doddle nowadays. But I've always puzzled why so many vegetarian meals have to resemble meat; 'non-meat' pies, sausages, burgers, fillets... etc. I admit I do use them, but that's as much as anything because they are cheap and available, and there are few ready-made alternatives for people with busy lives, who can't spend long rustling up a more wholesome meal.
There are so many 'truly' veggie recipes that are seldom seen in a supermarket, or in a restaurant, that it grieves me! And 'vegetarian restaurants' often seem to be quirky, and send shivers down the spine of carnivores (as I'm uncharitably inclined to call meat-eating friends...)! So, when it comes to eating out, it's usually at a 'conventional' restaurant, where the (one!) vegetarian option is either a so-called lasagne, or a sad pizza (comprising only cheese and tomato!), something loosely based on a soggy lettuce leaf, or a meat meal with the meat missing! When there are often fifteen or twenty 'non-vegetarian' choices, why are vegetarians usually consigned to just one choice, and one that lacks creativity, interest and, often, taste!
I was blessed by poor parents who taught me to be self-reliant. At the time, 50-60 years ago, that was the mark of a poor family. Middle-class families aspired to have things done for them; poorer folk had to do for themselves! Mercy! I'm now damn grateful that I learned how to do things that middle-class people now have to take classes to learn! Among them was the ability to cook, and after my mother died whan I was in my teens, I was already glad to be able to rustle up some food. The ability to win a lady's heart by cooking her a meal came later, of course...!
At first as a vegetarian, it was a necessity. You couldn't buy ready-made veggie food. I learned to batch cook, so a few hours preparation gave me a few 'standby' meals in the freezer. And I did discover a few veggie restaurants that didn't alienate non-veggies, while providing something really special for the likes of us veggies*. They introduced me to a few new and different cooking processes, as well as some different food. And then I discovered Mediterranean food; not just the ubiquitous pizza, but different foods and foods cooked different ways. That was an eye-opener.
I still like to go out to eat; it's a social thing as much as a meal, but it's seldom food to be cherished; food you feel compelled to tell everyone about. Even the best quality is often mundane, in terms of interest and creativity.... So I do like to entertain at home. Besides enjoying cooking, it enables me to choose food that excels; food that's in season, that's local, and at its' best. So I can support local producers as well as use what I can grow. I can interest my guests with the tale of how this or that was grown or prepared, and tempt them with things they hadn't tried before. And if nothing else, the taste of food that hasn't travelled halfway round the world, or been grown in tasteless sterility usually speaks for itself.
Though a veggie, I do cook meat and fish for my carnivorous friends, and again, I enjoy finding good local produce. Some have even been heard to say they 'could eat vegetarian food'...! It CAN be a damn sight more interesting than lack-lustre pizza, soggy lasagne, or sad lettuce. So, yes, let's hear it for the veggies? And maybe a few more restaurants could acknowledge that one fifth of the population eats vegetarian food. That doesn't mean they're veggie, but they would eat veggie food sometimes, and enjoy it a lot more if it was interesting and tasty! And if you're unconvinced, don't knock it till you've tried it.
So yes, I also miss going out to dinner, but I don't miss staying in and having good food, with or without friends to share it. I may not be the best cook in the world though, looking at some of the TV cookery/masterchef programmes, I'm not sure there IS such a thing.... But I like cooking almost as much as I like eating good food. Isn't that enough?
(*If anyone's interested, one veggie restaurant that stands out head and shoulders above all others was 'The Garden House' Restaurant, at Portree, on the Isle of Skye! Please tell me it's still there and still as good, 20 or 30 years on!)
Cheers, John