Still Inspired to Eat More Veggies.

We enjoyed our vegetarian meals last week. For the most part the flavors were very good and the textures were not unpleasant.

A successful first for me last week, homemade pasta. It was surprisingly easy.

A new favorite, the Hearty Winter Veggie Burgers. I cannot wait to eat that burger again, the flavors were fabulous.

The fried wontons were just ok and it felt wasteful with all that oil going in the trash.

We had mushrooms I needed to use, so I never got around to the souffle. I made a mushroom pasta instead.

Not only am I still inspired for I am an Organizing Junkie - Menu Plan Monday, I am inspired to do a bit of kitchen re-organizing this week.

All of last weeks meals came from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.

Many of this weeks come from the same cookbook. Chicken is also the menu this week. I need to start getting my seafood back too.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Pan Fried Chicken and cauliflower Mash
Asian Style Dumplings
Butternut Risotto
Bear Glazed Black Bean Burritos.

My weekly menu planning form.
(You can plan your meals with this form too. It is an acrobat editable file.)

Inspired to Plan Healthy Delicious Meals

Up until last week I wasn't really planning a weekly menu.
I have not been super inspired to cook in my kitchen, as my kitchen is less than inspiring. The blah of my kitchen totally reflected in my food. Boring. Dull. Same.

Everyone participating in I am an Organizing Junkie - Menu Plan Monday has inspired me. I know I need appreciate my current kitchen more—to eventually have the kitchen of my dreams. The only way to truly appreciate a kitchen is to keep it clean, uncluttered and put lots of love into healthy meals.


My focus will be 80% Vegetarian with local, seasonal ingredients as much a possible.
The majority of my recipes will come from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.


This week I will be making -

Cold Sesame Noodles
Hearty Winter Veggie Burgers
Tofu Stuffed Wonton
Cheese Souffle
Eggplant Parm

There was a time when I would look at vegetarian recipes and...yuck.
But if the few meals I have already prepared from this cookbook are any indication of what is to come... I can't wait. The flavors are delicious.

My weekly menu planning form.
(You can plan your meals with this form too. It is an acrobat editable file.)
My monthly menu planning calendar.
(Not sure if I am ever going to be this proactive, but some of you may find this handy.)

The Vegetarian Experiment

I have wanted to cook more vegetarian meals for as long as I can remember. I have tried, unsuccessfully many times.

We have modified our diets throughout the years to be healthier but I was always relying on what I knew how to cook.

This time is going to be different. Instead of browsing the web to add interesting and tasty meals to my repertoire, I decided to do it by the book. I just purchased How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.

I guess I was inspired by Julia & Julie. I found many things in common with both of them. I know what my challenges will be. Motivation to get to the grocery store more frequently. Acceptance that my kitchen is what it is. Small and dysfunctional. Finally, the biggest thing - learning to appreciated the aroma of vinegar. I really dislike vinegar. Vinegar of all kinds.

So far I really like Marks book. It is simple and basic. The ingredients are common to most grocery stores. Nothing (as of yet anyway) seems like a foreign language. There are lots of flavor variations for many of the recipes. The bonus is, he seems to like to substitute lemon and lime juice for the vinegars. So, maybe just maybe, this will work for me. Wish me luck and I will keep you updated. I plan on making vegetarian—with local, seasonal produce as much a possible—80% of our eats.

The first recipe is on the stove, a veggie stock. No vinegar.