How Do You Say 'Yummy' in Spanish?

Hibiscus-Flower Enchiladas! 

So much flavor!

I cherish finding vegetarian recipes like this.

I wish I had millions of them so I could easily go back to a vegetarian diet. 

I'm thinking about it. Vegan even. 

(I don't like cheese after all, so no worries about that.)

I'm not quite ready yet. I need more recipes like this! 

Anyway.

The recipe! *Note: Dan used 1 chile but would have happily used 2 per the recipe if he was only cooking for himself. And speaking of cooking, he loved creating this. He said he felt like Bobby Flay. Haha.

From Epicurious:

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita invented this unusual vegetarian entrée in part to support the indigenous people of Oaxaca, who grow and harvest hibiscus (known in Spanish as flor de Jamaica). "The recipe is very traditional," he says. "We just replace the meat with flowers." The flavor of hibiscus defines this surprising dish; meaty, tangy, and utterly irresistible.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup grated jicama
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chipotle sauce:

• 2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored, halved
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 large dried bay leaves
• Kosher salt

Assembly:

• Vegetable oil
• 12 6" corn tortillas
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
• 1/2 cup Cotija cheese or feta, crumbled

• Ingredient info: Dried hibiscus flowers, also called Jamaica flowers, are available at some natural foods stores and at Latin markets. Look for canned chipotle chiles and Cotija cheese at better supermarkets and at Latin markets.

Preparation

Filling
Bring hibiscus flowers and 2 cups water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; let steep until flowers are just tender, 5–8 minutes. Strain; reserve flowers. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; add onion and sauté until soft but not brown. Add reserved hibiscus flowers, carrots, and next 4 ingredients; cook, stirring often, until carrots are soft and liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Chipotle Sauce
Combine the first 4 ingredients and 2 cups water in a pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a blender; purée until smooth. Wipe out pot; add oil and heat over medium-high heat. When oil begins to smoke, carefully add purée and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Assembly
Pour oil into a large skillet to a depth of 1/4"; heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches, submerge tortillas and cook, turning once, until they soften, 30–45 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Put 1/4 cup of filling in center of each tortilla; roll to enclose. Place 2 enchiladas on each plate. Smother with chipotle sauce and garnish with sour cream, cabbage, and Cotija cheese.

 

 

 

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

Classic Mexican (breakfast) dish. Fried eggs served upon lightly fried corn tortillas topped with a tomato-chili sauce, with refried beans and guacamole.

This sort of thing is right up Dan's alley, and his plate probably had a ton of hot sauce on it, too. However it was all a little too mushy for me...And for some reason I was spooked by the egg. It just seemed weird to have an egg where beans or meat should be! LOL.

Super yummy though! Do you like it?

Saturday Dinner: Chile Relleno Casserole

Recipe: Simple Recipes.

Weekend Dinners

Saturday: Dinner and drinks (do we have enough liquor?!) at Matt & Gayle's. I offered Rocco a taste of my Chameleon - Blue Curacao liqueur, orange juice, 7 Up - but he was not interested. Dan made curried lentil burritos with a garlic cilantro yogurt topping, cooking for a record non-holiday dinner crowd; Matt, Gayle, Dan and I, Pat, Janine, Sarah, Emma, Hannah, and Abbie. I think Garret had something safe and bland. This recipe is one of our favorites, passed on from Hattie and Linda. It usually requires a special ceremony when it is passed on, and the recipe should only be shared in this context. If you would like to learn more, I might email you the stipulations. ;-)

Friday: Dinner at home while watching Martian Child...Not bad, go ahead and rent it. This dinner was quick and filling - just veggies and eggs!


Linguine with Chard & Egg

1. Cook linguine al dente; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, saute 2 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil with some red pepper flakes for 1 minute.

3. Add the chard and saute until wilted; remove from heat.

4. Add pasta and toss with salt, pepper, handful of grated Parmesan.

5. Divide pasta among bowls and poach or fry 1 or 2 eggs per serving.

6. Top each bowl with an egg and some hot sauce if desired.

Pasta in Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

[Din-din & my hand-embroidered doily!]

When you only get about three hours together every night before falling asleep (maybe 4 on the weekends), you learn to power-pair-bond. One of the ways we do this is cook together. Despite the small kitchen, it works, and it's just as good a time as any for talking or kissing. We made this a few weeks back, but it was so tasty, we took a pic. Here's the recipe:

Pasta in Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

2 onions, chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 small red chile, chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
13 oz can peeled tomatoes
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 tblsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
8 oz pasta (recipe calls for fettucine but we used what we had on hand)
5 fl oz cream

1. In a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan, cook the onions, garlic and chile in the olive oil over low heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper and other ingredients except for the pasta and cream. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened.

2. Put a large pan of lightly salted water on to boil for cooking the pasta. A small splash of oil in the water prevents boiling over. Boil the pasta while sauce is cooking, and when tender but still firm to the bite, pour cold water into the pan to stop the cooking. Drain noodles in a colander.

3. Add cream to sauce, stir and heat through without boiling. Taste and adjust seasoning. Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve at once.

Update on the Vegetarian Pledge

October was full of reasons to celebrate as well as raise awareness for all kinds of things from Breast Cancer & Domestic Violence Awareness to National Popcorn Popping Month and International Month of the Dinosaurs. I also focused on Vegetarian Awareness (my hubby is veg) and took a 30 day pledge to eat vegetarian and see what it's like. Here are my conclusions:

• Fast food is unfriendly and unhealthy for vegetarians on-the-go. The first weekend, we drove up to B.C., Canada, and I had a hell of a time finding anything to eat along the highway. There's Subway veggie sandwiches, yes. Sometimes you're just not in the mood for Subway though! My only other options were french fries, fried zucchini, fried onions...You get the idea. This would probably be easier for me if I liked cheese; it would at least open up options for cheese pizza, veggie-cheese dishes, and (more) fried food--the cheese sticks, popper, nugget, etc. Over the course of the month I discovered Burger King's veggie burger (I order w/o mayo - God, they put so much mayo on their sandwiches!!!) and I luckily have the good ol' northwest chain, Burgerville, which carries a veggie burger and a black bean burger that are so hearty and healthy and scrumptious!
• You rarely find vegetarian soups to go. This is kind of a part of fast food. When I go to grocery stores to get something from the deli or soup for lunch, it is really hard to find soup that doesn't have meat in it. It is even harder to find non-meat soup that isn't made with chicken broth. This is an issue for me because I LOVE SOUP.
  
• If I didn't live on the outskirts of a city like Portland--one that is VERY vegetarian and vegan friendly--I would most likely be screwed. This comes back to the on-the-go thing, as well. Portland's neighborhoods teem with vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants, bakeries, food carts, and cafes. The local grocery stores take pride in this quality, while chain stores offer more than the usual staples. (Most grocery stores, even in the Midwest where I'm from, are regularly stocking at least a small amount of alternative products. Brands like Morning Star Farms, Amy's Kitchen, and Boca are routine in chain grocery stores by now.)
• I had to grow a tougher skin. There are people who felt free to openly smirk, criticize, look at me like I'd gone crazy, etc. just because of my diet. This is the part that always fascinated me when Dan became vegetarian. Many people with meat-oriented diets became angry or self-defensive. It's just FOOD!
• I'm getting good at giving things up. I had a much more difficult time giving up alcohol (more about that later) than meat. I've never "craved" meat like ribs or steak, I hate seafood, and deli meats creep me out. Sure, I grew up on pot roast and potatoes, loved chicken, and enjoyed Thanksgiving turkey, but I was always a picky eater--which made the diet change less difficult for me than it could have been.
• I'm staying vegetarian. I haven't noticed any major health changes, but I am less stressed and more proud of myself as a vegetarian. After taking an Environment, Food, and Culture course at Marylhurst, I've always felt guilty eating things if I didn't know where they came from, how the animals were raised and slaughtered, and, simply, carrying around the knowledge that mainstream food culture of our country is detrimental to our health and nutrition, social and economic justice, and the environment. In addition to our vegetarian diets, Dan and I also strive to pay close attention to what is in all of the products we buy, where they are coming from, and their nutritional value.
  
• I do not judge people who eat meat. I don't think everyone in the world should or could be a vegetarian. My hope is that we could all pay a little more attention to our bodies, nutritional needs, and the overarching consequences of our appetites.

If you would like more information about understanding the connections between food, diet, environment, politics, and culture, I encourage you to read Food Politics, Diet for a Small Planet, Food Revolution, and/or Fast Food Nation.

Voting Party 2008!

Dan and I had Matt, Gayle, Abbie, and Garret over for dinner last night AS WELL AS a voting party. We discussed the measures in our pamphlets, played SORRY, watched the world series' last game, and pigged out!

I proudly made 2 spicy fall stews baked in kabocha squash,avocado-cucumber salsa, and buttermilk biscuits. I forgot the cheese, which made it vegan, and the buttermilk biscuits were totally store-bought and popped in the oven ten minutes before the squash finished. (Trader Joe's! Holla!) I received a standing ovation and 5 stars for my hard work, and I have to share this recipe because it IS SO GOOD. ENJOY!

Vegetarian Times doesn't have it copied from the magazine onto the web site yet (it's from the October issue), so I will painstakingly write the whole thing down for you. Because it IS SO GOOD. Note: I doubled the recipe to accommodate 2 tall, hungry, manly men.

Spicy Fall Stew Baked in a Pumpkin
Serves 6 :: Gluten-Free

If you can't find a large pumpkin, bake the stew in two small pumpkins or squash.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 15 oz. can hominy, rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3-4 lb. pumpkin or squash -Sugar Pie, Cheese, Red Kuri, Kabocha, or Buttercup-
2 oz. grated sharp Cheddar cheese (or not!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté 7 minutes or until softened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook 3 minutes more, or until spices darken.

2. Add tomatillos, hominy, 1/2 cup water, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are softened. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more to thicken stew, if neccesary.

3. Meanwhile, cut top of pumpkin around stem to make lid. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and strings. Rub inside with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Sprinkle cheese in bottom of pumpkin.

4. Fill pumpkin with stew, then top with pumpkin lid. Place on baking sheet (parchment paper suggested but I didn't use it...) and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until pumpkin flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.

5. Scoop stew, including pumpkin, into bowls and serve hot, topped with salsa.

Per serving 221 cal; 6 g prot; 9 g total fat; 31 g carb; 10 mg chol; 699 mg sod; 6 g fiber, 10 g sugars.


My Avocado-Cucumber Salsa (Magazine recipe calls for poblano chiles but I forgot to get them! And again, I doubled everything. Who uses only 1 clove of garlic, anyway?)
Makes 1 1/2 cups :: Vegan, Gluten-Free

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeo chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ripe avocado, diced

Apple & Carrot Soup

Emboldened by my successful baking adventure, I selected an autumnal recipe to prepare for my husband tonight. We decided to cook together, and I am lucky for that because Dan knew that our bag of carrots bought last weekend had gone bad...

Hubby: (Wearing a black sweatshirt, green khaki cargo shorts, one black sock and one green sock) "Do you think anyone will care if I have two different socks on at the grocery store?"

Wifey: "Yes. The question is, Do you care if anyone cares?"

Hubby: "No."

So Dan went to the store to get new carrots. The soup, which we had with biscuits, was a success!

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes (Unless your carrots have gone bad and your hubby has to go to the store wearing two different socks.) Cook: 35 minutes
Makes about 10 cups or 6 main-dish servings

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium Golden Delicious apples
2 lbs. carrots
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
2 cups water
Half and half and fresh chives for garnish

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden.
2. Meanwhile, peel apples and carrots. Cut each apple in half and remove core. Cut apples and carrots into 1 1/2 inch chunks.
3. Add apples, carrots, broth, sugar, slat, ginger, and water to onion; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove Dutch oven from heat. Spoon one third of mixture into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until very smooth.
5. Return soup to Dutch oven; heat through. Serve soup with a swirl of half-and-half, garnish with fresh chives.

The Day Before the Birthday

[An indulgent lunch: Hummus, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, lettuce & sprouts sandwich, Pellegrino sparkling water, & September's Marie Claire Idées]

The day before the birthday is just as important as the birthday day. It is important to follow the rules of treating yourself very, very well. So far, I have:

• Slept in and watched TV in bed while cuddling with Hobbes and Rocco. I learned how dispensable soap is made, and how to make homemade stuffed tortelloni from Marcella Hazan.
• Showered and blow-dried my hair, styling it to almost-perfection. (Why is it never as good as the hair stylist's version?)
• Enjoyed a small, warm mocha & the soundtrack to Once on my commute.
• Had an indulgent lunch (see above).
• Took an afternoon break at work with a strawberry, banana, & pinapple yogurt smoothie and my favorite blogazines: Apartment Therapy et al. (Ohdeedoh, Kitchn, Re-Nest), Portland Picks, Design Sponge, and clips from The Daily Show.

White Rock, B.C.

There I am, standing in the rain in front of Boundary Bay, cloaked in the night. We enjoyed what I thought was a quiet and romantic dinner at Charlie Don't Surf, one of the numerous oceanside restaurants in White Rock. Enveloped in rich, red velvet walls with chandeliers and fireplaces, we dined on sweet potato fries with garlic dip, warm foccaccia bread and olive oil, and a hearty spinach salad with peppers, walnuts, and mango vinaigrette. We gazed into each other's eyes. We flirted and held hands. Then I realized hubby wasn't interested in hanging around for a decadent dessert. He was boiling hot from the fireplaces. :-)

My 30 Day Pledge

"I want to eat better, feel better, and stop supporting cruelty to chickens, pigs, cows, fish, and other animals raised for food in the factory farming industry. By signing my name, I pledge to explore vegetarianism for at least 30 days." - Leah Ruth Herzing for GoVeg.com

(Kicking off World Vegetarian Day and October as Vegetarian Awareness Month, established in 1977 by North American Vegetarian Society.)

Snack Basket

Am I crazy to make myself a snack basket?

One of the frustrating things about living with depression is that I don't have much of an appetite. I also get stressed out very easily, and when I'm stressed, I don't want to eat. I want to have coffee and a cigarette. Unfortunately, I also am pre-diabetic, so my blood sugar is very finicky. In a better effort to feed myself (nutritionally), I decided to make myself a "snack basket" with all sorts of goodies that I can graze on throughout the day. When I came home with my basket and told Dan what it was for, I'm pretty sure he thought I was crazy. I reasoned, "If I put small amounts of small food in very pretty packaging, I'll be more likely to want to eat it."

I picked up some pretty sticker labels and a sturdy basket at the craft store, and a heck of a lot of nuts and grains in bulk from the grocery store. I was a little too ambitious because when I loaded up my baggies, there was too much food for the basket. Either I need to get a bigger basket, or I need to pair down my selections daily. To start, I have raw pumpkin seeds, shelled pistachios, halved cashews, cheddar crackers, sesame sticks, flax and veggie tortilla chips, walnuts, 5-grain cereal, Persian cucumbers, New England granola mix, chocolate covered almonds, roasted veggie crackers, flax+ granola mix, and dried cranberries:

Once I started filling my baggies for the basket, Dan was eyeing everything and "taste-testing" it. After a while, I asked him if he wanted his own snack basket. I'm pretty sure Rocco does, too. There was only 1 spill as I transferred the food and Rocco heartily licked up every last bit of New England granola mix off the carpet. I didn't even have to get the vacuum out. I obviously need to add more fruit and veggies to the basket, but for now we'll see how this goes. I usually have salads for lunch with lots of veggies and I have skinni dip, a new fat-free frozen yogurt shop next to Henny Penny. My favorite order is the mango yogurt smoothie with pineapples, strawberries, and bananas. YUM. For now I think the snack basket would do well with some grapes or cherries, and more dried fruit...What's a good dried fruit?

Poached Eggs for 2

Tonight I requested this for dinner, via the kitchn, via Bon Appetit. I wish I knew French like I used to. Hubby obliged. After 1 round of Jeopardy and 2 rounds of Family Feud; it has been a laid back evening. Last night we sat on the porch and discussed death. How often do you do that with your loved ones? It is appropriate when you have been to a funeral and cried.

Relishing tonight's food. Relishing it all.

Meriwether's Restaurant

Last weekend we met Lindsay, Matt, Lorri, and Carmen at Meriwether's Restaurant to celebrate Lorri's birthday. Meriwether's is known for its "farm-to-table" philosophy, using fresh produce from its own 5 acre farm, Skyline Farm, in Portland. Skyline offers garden vegetables, flowers and herbs, and a growing flock of heritage laying ducks. Here's a few items we tried and loved from the menu: Chickpea fritters with harissa aioli, which Dan is attempting to recreate for dinner tonight! Goat cheese ravioli with assorted beets and wine sauce, grilled quail with mint peas and homemade bacon, and a seasonal soup that had white beans, cranberry puree, and bacon. Dan and I spent a good four hours there, from cocktails to dessert, and we highly recommend Meriwether's---but it's all the better with good friends.

Turnips

For the most part, Dan and I try new recipes a lot. We are always searching for a new "favorite" to add to our weekly menu. Last week's favorite was Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup, which I have to give Dan major props for cooking because it included (eek!) summer squash. I convinced him that he would never know it was in the soup because of the heavy curry seasoning, and I was right. Despite the fact that the soup had 1 of his most detested foods (others include sweet potatoes and eggplant), it was YUMMY and we plan to make it again.

This week, we were both willing to try a vegetable we'd never had--turnips. Dan put a Scalloped Turnip Bake together and while it cooked in the oven, we had wonderful, chunky salads and a bottle of red wine. As the smell of the bake permeated the whole apartment, our mouths watered. I became even more excited with anticipation when we looked up turnips on Wikipedia to find out their nutritional value: "Turnips are high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium and Copper." How could something so nutritional smell so good? Well, as it turns out: it doesn't. What smelled good was the butter, cream, and onions. Neither Dan nor I could finish the scalloped turnip bake. Those turnips had such a bite to them that I felt the back of my throat gag as I tried to finish my plate. Dan tried coating his in parmesan cheese, to no avail. We were both totally dissappointed, but Rocco loved it. But Rocco also eats poop.

I have to wonder, Did we have bad turnips? Do they truly taste that bad? Does anyone have a better recipe that is more complimentary to that bitter taste? I'm not sure if we are willing to try them again, but for their nutritional value, I feel we should give it a shot. Any suggestions? Or does everyone else loathe turnips, too?

Memorial Day Lists

Apparently, everyone in the world had Memorial Day off of work except for me. Hmph. Well, I do realize it is a bit of a retail holiday, so I guess I understand. It actually turned out beneficial because Henny Penny was quiet, so I was able to tackle my list of to-dos that have piled up since we got back from vacation. On said list:

1. Print and cut 200 pamphlets for In Good Taste, Megan's dinner delivery business.
2. Print and cut birth announcements of Logan for my sister.
   
3. Finish reading submissions for M Review.
4. Edit accepted submissions for M Review.
5. Find yummy vegetarian recipes for this week's meal plan and make grocery list.
   
6. Organize and update my medical binder (recent doc visit before and after our trip rearranged my medications.)
7. Plan itinerary for Allyson's visit in three weeks.
8. Plan menu and details for graduation party, June 21st.
9. Research nursing schools for Dan.
10. Update blog.

I managed to check 3 items off my list, and they were #5, #9, and #10.

#5)

1. Grilled cheese sandwiches with sauerkraut on rye (um, sounded good, but why did I think I'd like it? I had a grilled peanut butter instead...)
2. Pesto tortellini with garlic and olive oil (dressed up with cheese and hot giaridiniera for Dan)
3. Chipotle bean tostadas
4. Chickpea and tomato salad
5. Spinach and orzo salad

#10) It felt good to write about Illinois, because it's something that I am constantly thinking about but find it hard to explain. (One of the reasons Dan and I fell in love with each other and clicked so well was because we both could communicate exponentially better by writing than talking, and our courtship before I moved to Chicago was essentially composed of long e-mails.)

#9) Fortunately, I found All Nursing Schools, a nifty little web site that makes it super easy to find programs anywhere in the country. However, I didn't anticipate the small amount of schools that offer second degree programs. Dan already has a BS in Biology, so ideally we want him to be able to build off of rather than start from scratch getting an Associates for RN, then doing an RN-BSN track, which would take longer and cost more money. Unfortunately, Dan's hopes for trying schooling here in Oregon (and then getting a job wherever we would move to) were thwarted by the fact that there are no programs that accommodate this situation. The results in other geographical areas of interest were:

1. University of Northern Colorado School of Nursing in Greeley, Colorado
2. Colorado State University School of Nursing in Pueblo, Colorado
3. University of New Mexico College of Nursing in Albuquerque, New Mexico
4. University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing in Columbia, Missouri
5. Lakeview College of Nursing in Danville, Illinois
6. Spalding University School of Nursing in Louisville, Kentucky
7. University of Louisville School of Nursing
8. Northern Kentucky University School of Nursing and Health Professions in Highland Heights, Kentucky
9. University of Kentucky College of Nursing in Lexington, Kentucky
10. East Tennessee State University College of Nursing in Johnson City, Tennessee
11. Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing in Charlotte, South Carolina

Whew! It's not much but it certainly narrows things down! (It's both exciting and bizarre to think we will be living in one of these cities.) We'll have to keep our fingers crossed as we continue to research because most of these schools are highly competitive and getting Dan into a program isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be.

It's funny I did all that research for Dan, because when I got home from work, I found he had spent his day cleaning for me. What a sweetheart. (I told him to take a nap!) Dan's hard work included:

1. Vacuuming carpet
2. Sweeping and mopping floors
3. Cleaning toilets
4. Laundry
5. Cleaning garbage baskets and taking out garbage
6. Dishes and cleaning kitchen
7. Cleaning porch
8. Making bed
9. De-clogging drains in showers and sinks
10. Taking bottles to recycling at the store
11. Washing and cleaning out car
12. Cleaning out litter box
13. Cleaning and reorganizing kitchen drawers

Fava Bean Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Perfectly light and nutritious for spring/summer, this is one of our favorite dishes. Found in Martha Stewart Living, you can print a copy of the recipe here.

From the article: "A garlicky fava bean salad brings together the abundant protein and fiber in beans and a slew of antioxidants from corn, cucumber, garlic, and parsley."

Yum!!!! It's perfect for everyone! And if you're vegan (or like me, the cheese-hating-weirdo) just don't sprinkle with feta cheese.

Menu September 3-9th

-Baked potato, asparagus, sweet corn, & applesauce
-Cauliflower bake
-Dan's Indian dish (eggplant, tomatoes, onions, & lentils in a punjab sauce)
-Veggie burgs in lettuce wraps with tomato & avocado, garlic fries
-Dan's brussel sprout dish (with garlic, onions, walnuts)
-Spinach & broccoli rice pasta with lemon pepper tilipia brushed in olive oil

Plus!!!


(Leah's new beer of choice! Dragon's Gold by Bard's Tale Beer)

Menu for August 26th - 30th

A short list this week since we will be spending Friday and Saturday night up at April and Jason's in Orting, Washington. Leah has also begun a gluten-free diet, which makes for really interesting grocery shopping. What is a vegetarian with a gluten-free wife to do?

-Good old fashioned spaghetti (with rice noodles), garlic bread, applesauce. (1 slice of garlic bread is Leah's freebie for the week, at least until we can locate gluten-free fresh bread.)

-Curry chickpea and tomato hash over brown rice, and something with pears.

-Fried bananas and our take on the infamous Portland "Whole Bowl," a comforting pot of rice, beans, salsa, garlic sauce, avocado, cilantro, olives, and cheese.

-Stuffed peppers, baked with fake ground beef, onion, pepper, chili powder, and hearty salads.

Snacks/lunches for Leah:
-Sea salt and pepper rice crisps
-Fruity-tooty salad (bananas, peaches, pineapple, strawberries & cottage cheese)
-Spinach, walnut, grape salad
-Chinese chicken salad
-Assorted gluten-free yogurts
-Celery sticks & peanut butter
-Morning blend juice
-Chicken poppy seed salad