"Cause She's..."

Famous Vegetarian Musicians

Everyday yumminess!

Inspired by some Naan that was picked up yesterday at the grocery I sauteed up some onion, mushrooms, carrot, broccoli, and spinach and placed it inside the Naan (gently warmed under the broiler) with some swiss cheese. This are the days that just make me glad to be a vegetarian. Lovely and wonderful.

Paul McCartney Discusses His Vegetarian Lifestyle

Freezer Stock Paying Off

As the snow piles up outside I have renewed thankfulness for my Freezer Stocking Soup Tour as I have some the ease of pulling out corn chowder from the freezer.

Dinner seems to be all about comfort food (Breakfast for Dinner mindset) with white peppered gravy over biscuits, sprinkled with shredded cheddar and french fried onion and two Morning Star "sausage" patties (I love the maple flavored ones). Completed with some hashbrowns and canned mandarin orange slices. (Seems only fitting since breakfast was a vegetable eggroll.)

Famous Vegetarian Poets, Writers, & Painters

Lovely

I love being able to share some of the interesting and often inspiring things I find along the way. I hope this inspires you!

One Vegetarian Cuisine World at Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards Gift Lo...

Enjoy! (I'm always on the lookout for something interesting.)

Freezer Stock - The Soup Tour Continues: Broccoli Cheese and a "Sink" Soup

So the Stock The Freezer - Soup Tour 2011 continues as I made a homemade broccoli cheese soup tonight for dinner (very yum!) with a recipe I improvised along the way. (I looked through a few different recipes before hand, got an idea for how other make it, contemplated what I liked about some of those recipes and what I had one hand, then experimented in my own.) The extra was bagged, labeled, and put in the freezer. The second of tonight, "Sink" soup, is simmering on the stove as I type... a vegetable soup that I derived the name from the idea of "every but the kitchen sink." (I haven't come up with a better name yet.) I keep a tub in the freezer where I collect bits of leftover or last bits of stuff to use up such as rice, vegetables, veggie broth, mushrooms, beans, or vegetarian gravy. These can be roasted, sauteed, steamed, or raw. When the container (and in this case a small freezer bag) are full I cook them down into a lovely soup, that has the house smelling quite nice right now. It's a great way to use up leftovers and have a wonderful soup full of texture, tastes, and overall yumminess. I love having soups, stews, and chowders in the freezer in individual servings. Convenient and I know what went into them.

And for you viewing pleasure and to go with ongoing theme (I keep finding these gems that just are begging to be shared) I found a Classic Sesame Street - Captain Vegetable. Enjoy!

Freezer Stock - The Soup Tour: Corn Chowder

I'm back to somewhat cooking regular and trying to get over the heaviness, richness, and junk that often comes with the holidays. For lunch today I roasted mushrooms, broccoli, some carrot and onion with a little but of seasoning and olive oil. Then stuffed the roasted veggies into a warmed pita with a touch of shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, and a touch of ranch dressing. Yum! While the veggies were in the oven roasting to perfection, I started my corn chowder for dinner. So so nice! I made enough chowder to help with me "Freezer Stock - The Soup Tour."

Also, in the spirit of things included link to an ABC Good Morning America segment on on "The Value of a Vegetarian Diet."

Update!

UPDATE: Still cooking when I can. Dating a vegetarian (now there IS a new one) and have been for a few months now. Survived Christmas. Almost couldn't find vegan Worcestershire sauce for the Chex mix (thankfully, I found Annie's brand at my local Meijer). Explored some new holiday main dish ideas, keeping the Vegetable Wellington for Thanksgiving, but made a mini spinach and portabella mushroom mix inside a puffed pastry (inspired by the Greek spanakopita) with a bit of onion, garlic (of course), and cheese. I have extras of both in the freezer. New computer (the old one crashed, it will be missed).


Now, for something to remind me (or us as the case may be) that we are not alone. There are more of us then some would like us to think. :-) Enjoy!

Something fun.

Something to, hopefully, make you smile.

"What's missing?"

"Can you tell what's missing?" - Another "Hell's Kitchen" clip I just had to share.

Makes You Think!

Don't usually watch "Hell's Kitchen," but this clip was just begging to be shared.

Love in Non-Vegetarian World

I didn’t really get the inspiration to actually cook today. (Leftovers and frozen pizza.) I was in writing mode and stuff in the creative mode working hard on a manuscript. I’ve been contemplating a few things regarding being single and vegetarian in a non-vegetarian world. I haven’t really met anyone to even think about serious, however the idea does bring up some thoughts regarding this lifestyle that I have chosen and in many ways has chosen me. I’ve had the discussion multiple times with my family where they have asked things about potential children I might one day have. I plan on raising any children I may one day have vegetarian and I have never hidden that fact, but I also don’t want to discriminate against a potential love of my life just because they eat meat. Let’s be honest if I only dated vegetarians I would lead a very lonely life. How does love and relationships factor into finding common ground? I know in my heart and spirit that living without consuming flesh is the best way for me and for a lot of people, but not everyone believes that way. I know so few vegetarians and vegans around me it makes me wonder how others deal with things like dating, love, relationships, and meat.

In the Words of Robert Louis Stevenson: "Nothing more strongly arouses our disgust than cannibalism, yet we make the same impression on Buddhists and vegetarians, for we feed on babies, though not our own."

Anther Day in Paradise

It's after midnight and is the start of a busy week. I'm getting ready to go into technical rehearsals with the show and prepping for the Thanskgiving food that I am taking to the large family gathering on Thursday. (So far I am taking my homemade stuffing, gravy, and an appetizer... and probably lima beans because i love love love them.)

In the words of Harvey Diamond: "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car."

In the words of George Bernard Shaw: "Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay."

Just a Video

Thanksgiving Thoughts. (I spent much of my day at the theater with set and costume stuff.)

From Henry David Thoreau: "One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make the bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying himself with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle."

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."