Top Five Friday

Top Five Reasons I'm a vegetarian.

Ok, I'm really more of a "Flexitarian" in that I eat meat occasionally and I eat fish regularly.

5. I really don't like the taste of meat.

4. It saves money.

3. It's healthier than eating meat.

2. It's good for the environment.

1. It's one of the easiest way for me to live out some of my morals, values and ethics.


Doesn't that look delicious??




Some suggested reading:

Vegetarian Meals make you Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Omnivore's Dilemma

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

First Fruits

I love, Love, LOVE this time of year!

Just look at their eyes...

NPR is doing a week-long series on soaring food costs around the world. What I heard today was about the rising demand for meat and its toll on the environment.

(Listen to that report here.)

This isn't new information. It's one of the main reasons that ONO and I decided to be flexitarians (mostly vegetarian.) So listening to this report, and the results of a specific study, gave me one of those self-gratifying moments -- "Cool! Already doing that."

I know some of you are starting to glaze over and others have already clicked on to something WAY more interesting and sensational. But for the rest of you still reading, CHECK THIS OUT!

According to that study, reducing your meat consumption by 20% is like trading in your Camry for a Prius. Can you believe how easy that is?! That's SO easy!

Here's what reducing meat consumption translates into in practical, every day terms: If you eat two meals a day that include meat, that's 14 meaty meals. Reducing by 20% means dropping meat from roughly 3 meals a week. Not that hard. And, you have to admit that reducing meat consumption is a lot less expensive than buying a Prius. In fact, doing that will SAVE money -- maybe $10-$15 week by my rough estimate.

So if the soft, brown, innocent eyes don't get ya, maybe that "cha-ching!" of your bank account will.

For more info, check out this site.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. It is SO easy it's ridiculous. I decided to try it after getting a hankerin' for California Pizza Kitchen a few weeks ago. Oddly, CPK doesn't offer this pizza any more. It was what I ordered every time I went there.

Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

1 refrigerated pizza dough (I used Pillsbury)
6-8 slices of Provolone cheese
2 pears, thinly sliced
6 oz of Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Mixed salad greens

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Spread pizza dough out on lightly greased baking sheet
Lay Provolone on top of pizza dough
Top with sliced pears
Sprinkle walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese on top of pears

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees. All cheese should be melted and bubbly and crust should be golden brown.

Top with mixed salad greens.

Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday

We eat a lot of soups in the winter, and lately, soup has really been hitting the spot.

This recipe is one of ONO's favorites, along with some warm, crusty bread.



Kidney-Kale Soup


1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 cans (15 oz) of vegetable broth
1 can of diced tomatoes in sauce
1-2 cans of water from broth can
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp seasoned salt
Pepper to taste


Sauté onions, carrot & red pepper in olive oil till almost soft, than add the
garlic and sauté till the other veggies are soft. Add beans, corn, broth,
tomatoes, 1 can of water and bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes, adding
additional water as needed. Add kale and cook till kale is wilted. Remove bay
leaves before serving. This is really good with cornbread.
Serves: 4-5

Yes, chock full of nutrition, but sure as you're born, the kids probably won't eat it. Too many green things.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Fall has definitely arrived and as it gets cooler I find myself wanting warm, cozy, comfort food. Here's a soup that's easy AND tasty. I put it in the crock pot and skip the puree step -- that makes it even easier. Serve with crusty bread. Yum!

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Cheddar Potato Soup

• 4 cups peeled, diced potatoes (about 4 medium)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• seasoned croutons

In a large saucepan combine potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree in small batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pan. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Serve garnished with croutons.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Quinoa!

Even though George pronounces it "kih-no-ee," it's pronounced Keen -wah. We discovered it while eating at one of our favorite restaurants in Champaign, Radio Maria.

Quinoa is a grain native to South America and has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years. It has been called a "super grain" because it's protein content is 22% for one cup (compared to 14% for wheat and 7.5% for brown rice), and because it has an adequate quantity of lysine (an amino acid), which most grains lack. That makes it a source of complete protein, the issue many refer to when expressing concern about being vegetarian. It's also higher in other nutrients and minerals than other grains. Here's what it looks like growing, harvested raw, and cooked:



The nutrition aspects of quinoa are important to us but even more important is the ease of preparation and how it tastes. Quinoa is very versatile, is as easy to cook as rice, and tastes really good. It's also becoming more easily found at the regular grocery store and not just at the health food store. I saw it Mierer the last time I shopped there.

Here is one of our favorite recipes for preparing quinoa:

Quinoa and Black Beans

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Occasionally it comes up in conversation that we're vegetarians. People ask questions like "don't you miss meat?" (no) and "how do you get enough protein?" (quite easily, actually) and "what exactly do you eat, then?" The answer to that question will be featured in these weekly posts.

Today we're celebrating Bethany's birthday as she will be in Venezuela for her real birthday (September 10). We have a family tradition that on your birthday you get to have whatever you want for your birthday meal. My chosen meal for about 5 years in a row was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans. Since mom was a nurse, it wasn't often that we got fried chicken, and of course you had to have 2 vegetables in your meal (although she insisted that corn wasn't really a vegetable -- it was a "starch").

Bethany usually chooses Lentil Soup for her birthday meal. She surprised me today by asking for Split Pea Soup and a potato/cheese/squash casserole, which I will make for her, of course. But in the interest of time and simplicity, I'm going to share the Lentil Soup recipe.

Lentil Soup

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
8 cups water
1 small dried red chili (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a heavy stockpot or soup kettle, saute onion, garlic and carrot in olive oil until soft. Stir in cumin and fennel and add lentils and water. Add the chili if desired.

Cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chili. Add lemon juice and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.

Serve this over brown rice and with some whole wheat bread you have 22 grams of protein, nearly half the RDA for most women (45 grams).