The Journey, thus far

It has almost been an entire year since I went vegetarian.  I still feel like a V.I.T. (vegetarian in training).  There have been some bumps along the way.  The hardest has been having to explain over and over again why I made this choice.  I just don't like the taste nor texture of meat.  It's as simple as that. That's why you won't see me eating any veggie burgers or veggie sausage...still tastes like meat. Ick. 

Other bumps have been attending various functions....walking into a typical summer gathering, I find that most are meat fests.  So there I sit, holding a plate of potato salad and fruit salad.  That's about the only non-meat dishes I can find.  Or I walk into potlucks, and find there are no non-meat protein sources. It finally hit me at the last one at church, that it's okay for me to bring a main dish that is non-meat!  I make a great vegetarian lasagna...and mac & cheese...and I'm experimenting with my mother's recipe for baked beans, working on a tasty vegan version.  I'll be prepared next time!

Then there is the taco filling I attempted to make out of black beans, corn, zucchini and salsa.  It was tasty, but kept falling out of the taco shell!  I'd take one bite, and wham...there would be an empty taco shell, and a pile of filling on the plate.  (turns out it's a tasty burrito filling!).

However, there have been successes.  I have discovered that I love tostadas topped with refried beans (vegetarian kind), topped with diced red pepper and sauteed corn & onion.  Yum!  And I love red pepper and pineapple pizza.  And black eyed peas are still tasty on top of crumbled cornbread.... 

So I'm still learning, but I'm enjoying my new way of life.  I feel healthier and happier.  The adventure continues on....

New Hope & Interesting Possiblities

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours in Barnes & Noble, my favorite bookstore. I enjoy just hanging out there, reading magazines, checking out books, and sipping my favorite hot cocoa.  I often have interesting conversations with complete strangers.

But yesterday afternoon, as I wandered about the store, I didn't feel like gabbing.  I found myself in the cooking aisle, looking for a bread baking book called Bread Alone.  While I didn't find it, I found an entire section on Vegetarian & Vegan cooking.  Armed with an armload, I curled up at a table and spent about 2 hours perusing them.  I found a recipe for homemade vegetable broth, something I have been looking for.  I found recipes for Scotch broth & Minestrone (both meatless). 

In the course of my time there, I read three Vegan cookbooks, and got some ideas of how to incorporate more variety into my diet.  See, I've been struggling lately, with coming up with balanced and tasty meals.  I gave up cheese (& ice cream) for Lent, so suddenly I've had to be more creative with my cooking.  Can't just dump cheese on it and call it good.  In reading those cookbooks, I received new hope that this lifestyle, living vegetarian, is not only possible, but enjoyable. 

I now have a renewed hope, and my menu plans are full of interesting possibilities.  Now if I could just stop craving pizza..... (mm...red pepper & pineapple).

Procrastination

I sit here with absolutely no idea of what to write on my blog today....and since according to my lists (you know how I feel about those) I should have done this yesterday, I decided to just sit down, BICHOK (butt in chair hands on keyboard), and just see what comes out of the ends of my fingers. This will defiantly be 'random musings'.

This has been a very busy, but highly interesting weekend. I baked three batches of cookies, attended 2 open houses, ran countless errands, scrapbooked, discovered a vegetarian pizza combination that I really like (red pepper and pineapple), and read no less than 2 1/2 books, not counting my usual perusal of the two vegetarian cookbooks I got from the library. Whew.

Attending an open house as a new VIT (vegetarian in training) was again an interesting experience. Bypassing all the meat, I filled my plate with fruit, pasta salads (the ramen noodle, almond one today was yummy), rolls, baby carrots and Eloise's famous green beans. Next challenge, coming up with a good recipe for vegetarian baked beans that can be cooked in a slow cooker to bring to my sister's annual BBQ.

The other challenge is to find motivation while I am at home. Somehow the energy I have whilst out and about seems to seep out of me shortly after I walk in the door. Hmm...at work, my mp3 player keeps me moving along... in the car, it's the radio (105.5 or 90.1). Mayhaps I need to turn the radio on at home?

Ah, well. The weekend is drawing to a close, and I have the usual Sunday afternoon chores to do (trash, prep dinner & tomorrow's lunch, lay out clothes, so on)...so I'll bring this random collection of thoughts to a close. Come see me here on Tuesday for a perhaps more inspired musing.