A Glimpse Into Why My Cooking Skills May Go Unappreciated...

My soup looked JUST LIKE THIS. I even had the pretty white bowl working for me. My food never looks like the picture, so I'm stoked.Tonight I made Hearty Bean & Grain Soup. The soup is full of healthy foods like kale, kidney beans, and buckwheat. All in all, it took close to an hour to prepare. [My fault,  as I forgot to cook the buckwheat ahead of time.] Once I got all the chopping, food processing, sauteing, simmering and mixing in line, I was left with a heavenly pot of too-good-to-be true tasty soup. 

I also threw some thick french bread under the broiler. I'm a pretty staunch anti-white flour girl, but I didn't have time to get by the health food store this week and pick up something better. 

Blair came home from work, went for a run, then headed back to the kitchen to ladle himself a big bowl of soup. He returned to the front room 20 minutes later, where I sat typing on my laptop.

"I learned something about myself today," he said, easing down onto the couch.

"Really? What's that?" I asked.

"I learned I freaking LOVE bread." 

I sighed. "There was soup too. Did you even taste the soup?"

"Oh yeah, the soup was good." He paused. "But the bread spanked it."

Seriously. Some days you just wonder why you try...

Vegetarian Menu for the Week

When I mention to new acquaintances that I'm a vegetarian I usually hear, "Oh, that's nice," followed by a pause and then, "So what do you eat?" Others (you know who you are) accuse me of torturing and starving my poor meat-loving husband. In an attempt to defend myself, I offer below our meals for this coming week, as a sample of what vegetarian living (YUM-O!) looks like. 

SATURDAY: Enchiladas Verdes, homemade Mexican Rice

SUNDAY: Spicy (soy) Sausage, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Cumin-Cayenne Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

MONDAY: Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna and Salad

TUESDAY: Hearty Grain Soup with Beans & Greens, crusty French Bread

WEDNESDAY: Leftovers

THURSDAY: Sloppy Lentils over Rice or on Toasted Rolls

FRIDAY: Butternut Squash and Walnut Bow-Tie Pasta, Salad 

And, just to show I have a heart, today I made Blair a big-batch of turkey-chili (his choice - I would have used beef) and spicy Mexican cornbread topped with cheese for him to take for lunch the first part of the week.

I was in my kitchen today for almost 4 hours and I am DONE. But c'mon... admit it. The food sounds tasty. And 80% of it is vegan. (The enchiladas and red pepper lasagna are bringing me down. Both call for types of cheese for which I have yet to find a vegan substitute.)

If you're interested in some easy and good vegetarian recipes (and hey guess what - you don't actually have to be a vegetarian to make them!) check out the Engine2 Diet book. Everything I've made in there so far has been tasty. Vegetariantimes.com is also a great resource.

Bon appetit!