Go Naked

There are something you like just because they make you feel good. 'Green Machine' Naked is one of those things for me. Love. Love. Love. Naked Green Machine was my breakfast with a sun-dried tomato bagel with melted cheese and pesto for lunch. (This is what happens when one is out running errands and does not want fast food.)

Dinner was all about embracing some black bean chili I had in the freezer paired with toasted cheese on a roasted garlic bread picked up at the grocery today. Yum! A banana for dessert.

Just A Couple More Days Before Thanksgiving

Overall it has been just another day in just another week of my life. I’m keeping a somewhat busy schedule and am glad to be over the bug that seemed to be going around. (I usually bounce back pretty well.) With keep erratic hours at the theater I am glad to have leftovers frozen from past dinners (potato and mushroom casserole, vegetable lasagna, and black beans and rice). I went out to lunch at this local Italian restaurant for dinner with my family today and had this lovely pesto pizza and a nice green salad. It was even sprinkled with pine nuts to add a nice little texture to the mix. I love finding and trying new things at local restaurants that end up just making me smile. I may enjoy a nice salad (and especially a nice vinaigrette on it), but I need more adventure than just salad in my diet. I do enjoy food… preparing it, eating it, and sharing it.

I got the grocery things needed for Thanksgiving and started discussions about the food for Christmas Eve (we always have a Christmas Eve thing with finger food and lots of people). We have definitely entered that busy season of family, food, and holiday cheer. For me, it means meal planning not just for myself and others like me but helping prepare food that will appease both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Oh, the excitement that is upon is.

Hope ya’all are staying healthy, happy, and warm.

As a pre-holiday extra check out this link for more vegetarian information, recipes, and commentary: http://talkingvegetables.tripod.com/

From Robert Hutchinson, in his address to the British Medical Association, 1930: "Vegetarianism is harmless enough though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness."

Pasta Salad and Thanksgiving Humor for the Vegetarian

So, I'm still not feeling great and what I really want to to just feel better or for someone to baby me a little. That's not going to happen. I made some seasoned crackers (the kind where you use veggie oil and seasoning at crackers than bake for 15-20 minutes) and homemade pasta salad. I don't have a recipe for pasta salad. I have certain things I like in it and often use, but in the end it comes down to whatever I find in the cupboards and refrigerator. Today's combination is sun-dried tomatoes (sliced into smaller pieces), black olives, some sliced mushrooms (left from last night's pasta), almond slivers, some cheese bits (you could use none or use soy cheese crumbled, shredded, chunked, whatever), a blasamic vinegrette that I like, and a touch of prepared pesto (I've gotten in the habit of using just a bit to add a little bit of something else to the mix) all mixed with the pasta. You can really use just about anything you have on hand and that you enjoy together. My mom usually uses colorful peppers (I'm not a big fan of them raw) and diced tomato (I prefer the taste and texture of the sun-dried or semi-dried). Currently, it is sitting in the refrigerator letting everything kind of crisp and marinate together.

For Thanksgiving this year, as with most years, my family is planning a big shin-dig with everyone getting together. We have certain traditions that seem to appear every year from pretty much the same people. Especially after going vegetarian it became important for me to make sure there were foods that I would and could eat without giving up some of my holiday favorites. I always make homemade mushroom stuffing, vegetarian gravy of some type, some type of vegetable that has not been corrupted, and often some appetizer type thing (my stuffed mushrooms are always a big hit with vegetarians and meat-eaters alike). Hope all your plans for the season are fabulous.

Here's a little something to make you smile and maybe think too.

From Albert Einstein, physicist: "Nothing will increase chances of survival for life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."