Being vegetarian promotes creativity, sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm missing out on a bunch of flavours from meat. I mean, carnivores get everything I can have, plus meat on top.
But I didn't really learn how to cook before I became vegetarian. I used to put shows on for bands, and they always request vegetarian food in the rider, even when they eat meat, because it just tends to be better made.
As for hash browns, don't cook them a lot, but when you are shaping them, if you just press down on them pretty hard between a couple of sheets of kitchen paper, that can dry them out and keep them together, or you can add a little flour to them before you form them into shapes.
