Exercise is the devil!

Yesterday was Day 6 (of 21) of the Quantum Wellness Cleanse... and it was the day I was dreading...  Exercise day.

The Day 6 chapter of Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness Cleanse gently nudges you to get your ass moving and do something as far as working out goes.  Now is probably a good time to confess that, with every fiber of my being, I absolutely hate the idea of "working out."  The idea of going to a gym and hanging out with a bunch of bicep-flexing meat heads just makes me want to hurl.  I mean, it REALLY does.  You can curl 50 pounds?  Wow, really?  Who gives a crap!?!? (By the way, I know that's not really what the gym is like but just indulge me, ok?)

Anyway, I guess I consider myself more "cerebral"... I could (and do) spend hours on end researching things, reading, learning, but the idea of spending even 20 minutes a day on an elliptical machine is just maddening.  I do, however, love being outdoors.  I love taking long walks with my dogs and I really love hiking.  That is the sort of "working out" I can actually do and enjoy (and if you haven't figured it out yet, if I don't enjoy something there is very little chance that I'll actually do it).

So I decided that I would bite the bullet and take the dogs on an a.m. walk.  It was nice.  I got to see the sunrise and the dogs were happy as hell.  However, I had just the tiniest hint of a migraine headache before the walk and should have known better than to do anything that gets the blood pumping.  Within about 30 minutes after my walk it felt like my head would explode right off my shoulders.  Today, Day 7, I am still dealing with the migraine.  Needless to say, there will be no exercise today.

Getting Stewed...

Irish Stew, that is.  Not your "typical" Irish stew full of lamb, but a kinder, gentler, vegetarian version. 

I received the latest copy of Vegetarian Times late last week.  I *love* trying out new recipes so as soon as it arrives I usually skim through and see what recipes fall in the "I might actually make this" category.  Since this is the March edition, and in honor of St. Patrick's Day there are a number of vegetarian recipes that are slightly modified versions of traditional Irish dishes.  Being an Irish girl myself, I was super excited to try out the Irish Lager Stew recipe.  It's got about a half hour left of cooking but it smells and looks *great*!!

Irish Lager Stew
1 Tbs Olive oil
8 oz sliced button mushrooms
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 cup diced leeks
3 diced red potatoes
2 medium peeled and sliced carrots
2 small peeled and sliced parsnips
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup lager beer
1 1/2 Tbs quick-cooking tapioca
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 Tbs white miso
2 Tbs chopped parsley

Heat 1/2 Tbs oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and garlic and saute 8 minutes. Remove from pot.

Add another 1/2 Tbs oil and leeks.  Cook 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips and tomato paste.  Cook 2 minutes and add tomatoes, broth, and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Add lager, tapioca and mushrooms.  Simmer 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in cabbage and miso and simmer 5 minutes or until cabbage softens.  Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

I'll be eating this with some sprouted Ezekiel bread.  I can't wait!

Over the hump

Well, I think I'm recovered from my caffeine withdrawal.  My morning is now filled with decaf coffee with soy creamer and stevia... and it's actually not a bad replacement.  I'm not feeling as tired as I was, and surprisingly, no headaches.  After reading about all the havoc that caffeine causes in your body, I just might stick with this.

In the meantime, I've resigned myself to pretty much cooking two dinners every night.  It's just too much of a pain to try to make things that both Mike and I will eat.  He wants chicken, I want tofu... and there's not a whole lot of room between the two to negotiate.  So, I accept that.  Although last night I offered to make some grilled chicken for him and he ended up eating the Chickpea and Kale Curry Stew I made instead.  Go figure.  Maybe just knowing that there was an OPTION of something else was enough for him.  The recipe is below.  It was pretty good with a piece of Ezekiel sprouted bread.

Chickpea and Kale Curry Stew
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cups chopped kale
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 15-oz can low fat coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and spices and saute for three minutes.  Add kale, chickpeas, tomatoes, broth and coconut milk.  Stir to combine and let simmer for 1 hour.  Add cilantro immediately before serving.

Doing My Sleeping Beauty Impression

Well, yesterday was Day 1 of the "Quantum Wellness Cleanse"...  Since I'm only reading one day at a time, I gathered that I wasn't supposed to have caffeine or sugar, and I was supposed to reduce/eliminate my gluten intake.  I don't understand the gluten thing... as far as I know, unless you have a gluten sensitivity like Celiac disease, there's not really any harm in it.  I don't know.  I guess maybe I'll learn more as I read through the book.

On Friday night I tried out one of the recipes from the book for dinner that was gluten free.  It was Spaghetti with Pesto Cream.  The recipe is also vegan and I wondered how the Pesto would turn out without the parmesan cheese.  To my surprise, the pesto was awesome.  There were some odd ingredients in it, like white miso and nutritional yeast, but the end product tasted exactly like regular pesto... and may have even been a bit better.  The spaghetti, on the other hand, was made from rice (I assume semolina has gluten).  Rice spaghetti is definitely not for me.  The noodles were mushy and sticky and just gross.  Not good.

So yesterday, Day 1, I followed directions and skipped my usual morning coffee.  Actually, I made decaf instead.  I know decaf is not really that great for you either but I think my attachment to the "ritual" of morning coffee is just too strong to skip it all together.  I'm not sure whether it was caffeine withdrawal or just a regular old migraine, but at about 9:30 or so my head was just on fire.  I took an imitrex and went to sleep.  I didn't wake up till almost 3:00 pm.  I pretty much lost the entire day.  Of course, I had a million things that I was planning on doing, but so much for that!

Last night I went out to dinner with some co-workers to Santiago's in Bisbee.  I have absolutely no clue whether or not I "cheated" with Spinach Enchiladas (I think they were made with corn tortillas which SHOULD be gluten free) but I'm pretty sure the cheese was verboten.  Oh well, I think the fact that I skipped the caffeine (and dessert) is pretty impressive either way.

Oh, one last thing... also part of the cleanse is a mandatory meditation.  I don't think I have the ability to meditate.  The whole time my mind is racing.  Breathe in.... How long do I have to sit here?  I have so much to do.  Breathe out... I wonder if that was a deep enough breath.  Am I getting enough oxygen?  How long do I need to sit here???

The Life of an Addict

I've come to the realization that I might be an addict.

As soon as I wake up in the morning, I've got to get my fix.  If I don't, my head hurts, I can barely get out of bed, and I pity anyone who crosses my path.

I am addicted... to coffee.

As part of Kathy Freston's 21-Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse, I know that at some point I will be asked to give up caffeine.  Since I'm only in the "write down what you eat" phase, I am still pretty much able to do whatever I want, I just have to 'fess up to it in writing.  So, after logging my food for the day I realize that I must be going on a bit of a caffeine bender.

Don't get me wrong, I realize there are much worse things I could be addicted to, but the very idea of a substance, no matter how benign, being "in charge" of me really kind of irks me.  As a self-professed control freak, I'm not really interested in anyone or anything being the boss of me!

So, I know it's coming...  I'm somewhat in denial and probably making things a lot worse for myself by completely going over the top with caffeine right now, but I guess it's all just part of the process.  I'm seriously wondering about my ability to give up caffeine...  and as I sit here and write this blog, I'll give you one guess what I'm drinking.  :)

Food log for Thursday, Feb 10:
5:00 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
5:30 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
6:00 am:  Bowl of cereal with almond milk
8:00 am:  Sugar free Carnation instant breakfast with almond milk
10:00 am:  Coffee with half & half and sugar
11:30 am:  Penne pasta with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes
2:00 pm:  Two small pieces of chocolate (maybe 2 oz all together?)
7:00 pm:  Leftover dinner from last night (cowboy casserole) and a slice of honey oat bread

One more day of the food log till I hit Day 1 of the cleanse...

Hitting the "restart" button

It's really funny how the foods we eat are often reflective of our mood.  For the last two weeks or so, I have felt pretty crappy for a lot of reasons.  Both my physical and mental state have been pretty bad after dealing with some personal struggles and losses.  So, accordingly, I've been stuffing myself with garbage... which only serves to make me feel even MORE like garbage.

So, it's time to hit the restart button. 

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day and she had Michael Pollan and Kathy Freston on to discuss the food system in America.  I was already familiar with Pollan after reading some of his books, but Freston was a new face.  She is an author, and a vegan, and I was impressed by not only WHAT she had to say, but the non-judgmental way of HOW she said it.  So I did a little research on her and came across her book "The Quantum Wellness Cleanse".  It's a 21-day program that, from the description, is not the typical juice-fast type of "detox cleanse" but rather a physical, mental and spiritual cleanse.  Needless to say, I could stand to clean out the cobwebs in all three so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'm in the preparation phase, which is basically just three days of writing down what you eat and why.  Now THAT is easy.  I'm not sure what will be with the rest of it, but this part is a breeze.

So, here's a summary of yesterday:

• 5:00 AM, Coffee with half & half and sugar
• 5:30 AM, Bowl of cereal with almond milk
• 7:30 AM, Sugar-free Carnation instant breakfast smoothie with peanut butter & almond milk
• 10:00 AM, Cup of watermelon cubes
• 11:30 AM, Lemongrass chicken (yeah, I actually ate chicken), white rice, salad
• 2:00 PM, Pomegranate seeds (about 1 cup)
• 7:00 PM, Vegetarian "Cowboy Casserole" (veggie crumbles, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic - sort of like a non-chili version of chili), honey oat bread, salad

I'm really trying not to read ahead in the book so I don't get too overwhelmed.  :)  Who knows if this will make me actually feel any better... at the very least, maybe it will take my mind off of my mood. 

So, follow along as I give this a shot!

Wingin' it...

In theory, I'm a creative person.  I mean, I like the idea of being the "artsy" type.  I have been told I look the part (I guess people assume lots of tattoos = some kind of artistic talent?), but the truth is I am pretty talentless in that area.  I can't sing, I can't draw, and beyond a few years of middle-school flute playing, my creative outlets consist of two things:  making candles and cooking. 

The irony is that both of those outlets are really less about being creative and more about chemistry and following instructions.  I am great at following recipes... just like I am great at doing paint-by-numbers.  My creativity is BOUNDLESS!  (As long as I am told exactly what to do...)

So, this brings me to last night's dinner.  After a few days off from cooking (I was sick) I was back in the saddle.  My grocery list was made and I was going to whip up the "Poblano Chile-Cheese Enchiladas" from my recently purchased Vegetarian Times "Healing Foods Cookbook."  Chiles, according to the cookbook, have anti-inflammatory properties - great news for those of who suffer from migraines. 

I arrived at my local Whole Foods, list in hand, ready to roll.  I was pretty familiar with everything on the list, except for one obscure ingredient - "2 1/2 oz. dried New Mexican chiles."  Thankfully, I was accompanied on this shopping trip by a friend who is what I would consider to be an expert on all things chile.  After some discussion, she knew what it was we were looking for.  We walked the aisles for a while in search of this mystery ingredient.  Nothing in produce.  Nothing in the spice aisle.  Finally we asked the girl making about 8 pounds of guacamole in the produce aisle where we could find these dried chiles.  In the end, we were out of luck.  There were no dried chiles to be found.

At this point, I had been running around all day and did not want to go to another grocery store in search of the elusive dried chiles.  Instead, I opted to spread my creative wings... and wing it.  In lieu of dried chiles, I bought three green Anaheim chiles.  Instead of drying them, I roasted them in the oven, chopped them up and added them when the dried chiles were called for in the recipe.  My biggest fear was that the red tomatoes + the green chiles would = some kind of enchilada sauce that was reminiscent of the contents of an infant's diaper (red + green = brown, right?).  Thankfully it ended up as an orangey kind of sauce that was pretty delish.  I also topped the whole thing with some extra shredded monterey jack and some chopped cilantro, and covered the whole thing with foil prior to putting it in the oven.

These enchiladas were STUPENDOUS.  The real test is whether or not my carnivorous husband will eat whatever vegetarian concoctions I come up with.  Prior to eating this he said "I hope there's some chicken in here..." After trying them, I didn't hear a word until the plate was wiped clean.

Stocking up (or not)...

I really despise grocery shopping.  I'm talking about that "big" kind of grocery shopping you do on a Sunday afternoon... the kind of shopping that requires a big list and a two hour block of time... the kind that makes you feel like you just ran a race, and lost miserably.  I refuse to do this sort of shopping.

My husband, on the other hand, is one of those people who likes to "stock up" on things.  If there aren't at least 300 rolls of toilet paper in the cabinet he feels like we are just about to run out.  He's the sort of guy who would prefer to go to the wholesale stores that allow you to buy in bulk and LITERALLY fill the car with so much crap that you can't even see out the back window.  It matters very little whether or not we need the crap but it's just important that we have it.

I prefer a "just in time" shopping method.  I don't like to keep a whole lot of extra stuff in the house.  Granted there are certain things that I always make sure we have in stock (we will NEVER run out of coffee) but there is something almost romantic about the idea of thoughtfully planning dinner each day and heading to the market for the freshest ingredients.  I imagine myself on a bicycle somewhere in Naples going to my neighbors farm to pick up some San Marzano tomatoes.  Yes, Arizona is a far cry from Naples, but you get the point.

The downside to all this is felt during those times when you just can't get to the grocery store.  When I was on the East coast, even the slightest mention of snow would cause a rush of people to stock up on bread, milk and other staples.  Heaven forbid!  We may be snowed in for weeks!  While there is no longer the threat of snow out here in the Southwest, there is the issue of my frequent migraines.  I've been getting these for more than 20 years and when I do, there is little I can do other than medicate and hide in a dark room... At these moments, there is just no way I can pry myself out of bed for a trip to the grocery store.

Which brings us to today...

I had big plans to try out a new recipe for a sweet potato and leek gratin.  My short grocery list for my post-work shopping trip consisted of two things... sweet potatoes and leeks.  Since I've been house-bound all day with a migraine, my gratin is just not going to happen.  Instead, I've been left to scrounge around in my fridge and cabinets trying to put something together for dinner.  Thankfully I had some pretty good ingredients on hand and was able to put together a meal I am calling "Stuck-in-the-house" Chili.

Stuck-in-the-house Chili

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped carrots

2 plum tomatoes

1 bunch of cilantro

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

3 cups veg broth

1 cup water

3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

3 cups "Bob's Red Mill" Whole Grains and Beans soup mix

1 Tbs chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Salt

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a big soup pot.  Saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until vegetables are tender.  While vegetables are cooking, add cilantro, plum tomatoes (roughly chopped), chipotle and remaining Tbsp of olive oil to blender and blend till smooth.  Add blended mixture to vegetables along with broth, water, tomatoes and soup mix.  Stir in chili powder and cumin.  Add salt to taste.  Simmer until beans are cooked (this takes a while...  I'd say about 2 1/2 to 3 hours).

Serve with cheese and sour cream.

From "Pork Roll" to "Poblanos"...

Growing up in NJ, there was truly nothing better on a Saturday morning than taking a ride to the local bagel shop for a pork roll, egg, and cheese on a bagel with salt, pepper, and ketchup.  When I say "nothing better" I really mean that.  The PE&C cures a number of ailments, but it is most used as a hangover remedy and I can honestly say that I have never experienced a better "morning after" cure.  I assume the bagel must absorb those churning stomach acids... and the grease from the pork roll has a lovely "coating" effect, something like a pig-based version of Pepto Bismol.  It is, in a word, heaven. (Note that I'm a vegetarian now, so I've abandoned pork roll as a hangover cure)

Almost six years ago, after learning that my employment was going to be transferred to Maryland, I decided I would look for a new job in a warmer part of the country.  It had been a bad winter that year and I was just so tired of scraping the ice off my car in the morning and wondering if I would get to work without hitting a patch of black ice.  So, I looked for work in two states - Florida and Arizona.

I really hoped that I would land a spot in Florida.  I had spent quite a bit of time there at conferences for work (and just generally goofing off as well) and I really loved it.  The sun... the beach... great food... I had a yearning for Fort Lauderdale that wouldn't quit.  I imagined I would spend my days at the beach and my nights at the Elbo Room and it would be bliss.  The Florida job offers never came, though.  After months of looking, and the inevitable sale of my house in NJ, I needed to find a job SOMEWHERE fast.

At the 11th hour I received a job offer in Arizona.  I immediately accepted, having very little knowledge of what I would be doing or where I would be living.  I packed up my belongings, drove cross country, and settled in to my new home.

There were a lot of adjustments to make with this move, not the least of which was the tremendous difference in the food.  There is NO bagel shop within a reasonable distance from my home, most people have no idea what pork roll is, and getting "real" East-coast pizza is not in the realm of the possible.

I've slowly started to become accustomed to the local food, but it wasn't easy.  I had never even had "real" Mexican food for example.  The only thing close I had ever eaten was the occasional taco my mother would make from the "Old El Paso" taco kit.  Being pretty "food adventurous", though, it wasn't long before I was trying things like Chile Rellenos and tacos that had little resemblance to what I grew up eating.

While I wouldn't consider myself an expert on Mexican or Southwest fare, I've come a long way.  Yesterday, I decided that I was going to make a Poblano Corn Chowder for dinner.  I stopped at the local grocery store to pick up the ingredients I needed... 4 ears of corn, milk, vegetable broth, and Poblano peppers.  I walked frantically up and down the produce aisle looking for where the chile peppers were (I didn't go to my "regular" grocery store so I was a bit lost).  Eventually I found them, but grew concerned when the sign said "Pasilla" peppers, and not Poblano.  I stared at the peppers for a while, doubting my pepper knowledge.  These looked like Poblanos... and I didn't have a damn clue what a Pasilla was.  I decided to go out on a limb and take the plunge, trusting that I knew what a Poblano was and these were them.

When I got to the register, the cashier looked at me and said "What's this?"  I responded confidently "THAT is a Poblano."  She looked it up in her little list of produce codes and eventually found what she was looking for.  Then, on the register's display I see "Pasilla."  DAMMIT.  I guess I'm not as smart as I think I am.  I brought my groceries home and made my chowder (recipe here) and it was absolutely amazing. NOTE:  I used three Tbsp of butter rather than two, and let the chowder simmer about a half hour before serving.

This morning, I did an internet search on Pasillas and Poblanos.  Well it turns out that Pasillas are actually a dried chilaca (whatever the hell THAT is).  From the wikipedia entry for Pasilla:  "A true pasilla is the dried form of the long and narrow chilaca pepper.^[2] However, in the United States producers and grocers often incorrectly use 'pasilla' to describe the poblano, a different, wider variety of pepper whose dried form is called an ancho." 

So, not only did I make one of the most kick-ass pots of soup last night, but I also proved to myself that perhaps I AM in fact a little smarter than I give myself credit for when it comes to the local fare of my new home state.  I still have a lot to learn, but for now, I'm happy with my small Poblano victory.

Persian Chickpea Salad

This salad, along with the leftover tomato soup I made the other day, was dinner last night.  I thought it was really good, but Mike was not super thrilled with it.  Apparently he has an aversion to too many chickpeas (which he affectionately refers to as "chalk balls" because he says they taste chalky).  The salad was similar to a Greek salad in taste, but with a little bit of a Middle Eastern spin due to the spices.  The recipe said you could use either feta or queso fresco.  I used queso fresco that I found at Whole Foods but I'm not sure if it's something you could find at a typical grocery store.  You could also substitute panir, which is a Middle Eastern cheese, if you have the luxury of a Middle Eastern market in your area.  My recipe calls for half the onion of the original just because I'm not big on onion.

Dressing
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, cumin, salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salad
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 small red onion, diced
1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 Tbsp sliced fresh mint
2 oz queso fresco, feta or panir cheese

Toasted pita bread (optional)

Whisk together ingredients for the dressing.

Combine all salad ingredients except for mint and cheese.  Add dressing and toss.  Add mint and gently fold in to salad.  Serve salad topped with cheese and with toasted pita.  Enjoy!

(original recipe courtesy of Pampered Chef)

This is about 4 servings.

Comfort food when it's really needed...

Well, it's certainly been one hell of a weekend out here in Arizona's District 8.  As most everyone has heard, our Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head at point blank range.  She is currently in a medically induced coma, but still alive, and the doctor's seem hopeful.  In addition, more than a dozen others were shot, several killed, including a Federal judge that went to high school with a friend of mine and a 9 year old little girl.  There is a lot of sadness and disbelief going around right now.

Then, today, while I was at church, I saw a call coming in on my cell phone from one of my closest friends.  After church I listened to the voicemail she had left only to discover that her cousin, and also a friend of mine, had passed away at the young age of 38, seemingly of a heart attack.  He leaves behind a wife and three kids.  He was a great guy and had a great sense of humor, and it is truly a loss.

At times like this, there's little that anyone can do or say to fix the situation or lift spirits... and I had very little desire to whip up some big gourmet feast today.  Instead, I settled on a simple soup that provided a little bit of comfort when it was needed most.  The recipe is available here.

Cloth, Paper, Scissors...

Being a 30-something without kids (yet) I have to confess that most of my dinners are eaten on the couch and in front of the TV.  I have a lovely dining room that quietly sits just waiting for the 2 or 3 times a year it will actually be used.  I just really can't find a reason to use it on a day to day basis.  I imagine that when I do have kids, I'll follow the footsteps of my mother and have "real" dinners, at the table, every night, at a set time.  It will be "dinner time" and I will fully expect my kids to be there for it.

Even with my current dinner configuration, though, I do have one small element of formality - cloth napkins.  A dear friend of mine will probably call this "hoity-toity" (a phrase I first heard when she compared New Jersey pork roll to "hoity-toity" SPAM) but to me, it's much more complex. 

I admittedly have a bit of an "issue" about eating with my hands or having any kind of grease on my hands.  Even with my East coast roots, I eat pizza with a knife and fork... and I am CONSTANTLY wiping off my hands when I eat.  So, in some ways, it's just impractical for me to use paper napkins.  I will go through STACKS of them and they never really seem to be substantial enough to make me feel like my hands are clean.  It just seems tremendously wasteful.

So several years ago, I made the switch to cloth napkins.  In environmentalist circles there are debates over which is actually the more "green" option.  Paper napkins contribute to deforestation, there is the energy and resources required to make them, and when they break down, they release methane in to the atmosphere.  However, there are paper napkins made with recycled fibers that have less impact to the environment in the manufacturing process.  Cloth napkins are reusable, but bleached cotton napkins are much more damaging to the environment (from a manufacturing perspective) than paper.  Linen napkins are more environmentally friendly than cotton, but then again, with all that washing, are they really better?  There are a lot of viewpoints... and just as many variables that could make either one a better option than the other.

Given all of that, for me, cloth napkins work best.  I use way too many napkins to justify paper, and for some reason I can use one cloth napkin for several meals (unless it's something really messy) without feeling like the napkin is "dirty".  I'm sure the fact that I limit the hand-to-food contact has something to do with it.  I have a bunch of cloth napkins that I've used for years.  I wash them with the rest of the towels/dish towels, and I use a biodegradable, non-toxic detergent in a high-efficiency washer.  I have no doubt that for my situation, cloth wins the green debate.  When these napkins finally meet their doom, I plan to try to make some of my own "shabby-chic" napkins with some old clothes and pinking shears. 

While for some, cloth napkins are a sign of pretention and hoity-toity-ism (that's right, I just made that up...) to me, they are just another way that I can live my crunchy, dirty hippie, tree-hugging convictions.

What are we having for dinner???

Am I the only one that despises this question?  I think this is the question that I am asked most often - and always by the same person (I have no kids, so does that narrow it down?).

WHAT ARE WE HAVING FOR DINNER???????

Deciding what to have for dinner is painful to me, and for whatever reason I seem to get in to "ruts"... The same stuff over and over and over again.  Being a relatively new vegetarian, I think it may be even worse because I wouldn't call myself an "expert" at vegetarian cuisine.  Quite honestly, I can grill a kick-ass steak, but that talent isn't doing anything for me at this point.

I am always looking for new and interesting vegetarian recipes.  My husband is a relatively picky eater, so I find myself filtering those recipes based on what I think he'll actually eat.  I have collected a few vegetarian cookbooks, some better than others, and have a subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine (which is really fantastic).  With all these recipes on hand, I've made a committment to expand my dinner repertoire by making 30 consecutive NEW dinners.  Today is day 4 of that exercise.  Day 1 was a Sweet Potato and Chickpea Chili.  Day 2 was homemade Ricotta Gnocchi.  Day 3 was a spicy vegetable soup.  Day 4, today, was stuffed peppers.  I would characterize days 2 and 4 as "successful" in that I will add these items to my dinner rotation when this little exercise is complete.  Day 1, was ok but I think it wasn't good enough to be repeated.  Day 3 (the soup) was a little bit too spicy for my Irish blood.  It did, however, give me a chance to cook with chipotle peppers in adobo, which is an ingredient I haven't worked with.  I might make it again if the recipe were tweaked slightly.

Tonight's dinner, the stuffed peppers, was very easy and really delish.  I served it with some of the leftover soup from last night (I still consider this a "new" dinner...  Hope I'm not cheating there...).  The recipe follows.

Saffron Rice Stuffed Peppers
1 package yellow saffron rice (the prepackaged rice/seasoning stuff in the grocery store)
2 medium red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, stems and seeds removed
2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1 green onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 shredded cheese (Mexican-type blend - cheddar/monterey jack)
2 Tbsp water

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, microwave red bell pepper halves (covered) for three minutes.

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 mins.  Add tomatoes, green pepper, green onion, garlic, and half the cilantro.  Cook a few minutes until the green peppers are tender.

Stir veggie mixture into the finished rice.  Add 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Dry the cooked red peppers and place in the skillet that the veggies were sauteed in.  Stuff with rice mixture and top with remaining cheese.  Put water in skillet and cover.  Heat for a couple of minutes at medium-low heat until cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with cilantro when serving.

Vegetarian... not necessarily "healthy"...

As seen by last night's dinner, eating vegetarian does not always necessarily mean what you're eating is "healthy."  I tried out a new recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sauce.  The gnocchi were darn tasty, but the butter sauce was way too rich for me.  The gnocchi would have been great with some red sauce and I'll be trying that next time.

Gnocchi are little pasta-like potato-y dumplings.  They are usually pretty fluffy and soft and pretty delish, if you ask me.  These are not made with potatoes, but rather with cheese.  Perhaps another reason that the dish overall felt very heavy.  The gnocchi themselves were pretty light in texture but just so weighed down by the butter sauce.

Ricotta Gnocchi
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup whole milk ricotta
2 oz grated parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine zest, cheeses, egg and salt until well mixed.  Fold in flour till combined, but don't overmix.

Using a measuring spoon (tablespoon) scoop out gnocchi and form into round balls on a floured piece of parchment or wax paper.  You should get about 30 gnocchi (give or take).

Heat butter and olive oil in a big pan at medium high heat for about 4 or 5 minutes (until butter just barely starts to brown).  Add gnocchi to the pan and brown on each side for about 2 mins.

Take out of the pan and serve with your favorite tomato sauce.

Enjoy!

Going Meatless...

If you haven't heard about Meatless Monday you're missing out.  This is an effort to reduce meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your health, and the health of the planet.  I'm a vegetarian... mostly.  I occasionally eat fish and on a really rare occasion when I'm feeling otherwise "stuck" I'll eat chicken.  I'd say I'm about 90% vegetarian.  The decision was something I thought about for a long time... and then I read the book Skinny Bitch, which completely ruined the meat-eating experience for me.  The book was not what I expected at all (I thought it was just some cutesy motivator to lose weight... WRONG!).  Anyway, there is one passage in the book that I credit with completely changing my eating habits... if you want to know, just read it.

So, for the first Meatless Monday of the new year, I decided to try a new recipe for Butternut Squash Chickpea Chili.  It was actually pretty good, although I did need to tweak the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand.  For starters, no butternut squash.  However, I did have a couple of sweet potatoes that were approaching the "do I throw these out?" phase so I figured I'd use them up.  I also didn't have any chipotle peppers, but I did have some jalapenos and used those instead.  I also substituted the margarine with olive oil.  I truly love olive oil and it's good for you.  I use it liberally.  Finally, I would recommend a bit more milk than the recipe called for or the chili will be WAY too thick.  I think I used about 1 1/2 cups.

The real test of a recipe is whether or not my carnivorous husband will eat it.  I'm happy to say, he did... and I've got enough leftovers for today's lunch.

Blogging... Everybody's doin' it.

After receiving some inspiration from a few friends who have started their own blogs, I figured what the hell... I've always got plenty to say, and since cooking is a favorite pasttime, why not combine the two?  So what makes THIS blog different?  I don't have a damn clue but I guess we'll find out now, won't we???  I guess the biggest difference is that I'm writing it.  :)