Vegetarian Menu for the Week

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When I mention to new acquaintances that I'm a vegetarian I usually hear, "Oh, that's nice," followed by a pause and then, "So what do you eat?" Others (you know who you are) accuse me of torturing and starving my poor meat-loving husband. In an attempt to defend myself, I offer below our meals for this coming week, as a sample of what vegetarian living (YUM-O!) looks like. 

SATURDAY: Enchiladas Verdes, homemade Mexican Rice

SUNDAY: Spicy (soy) Sausage, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Cumin-Cayenne Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

MONDAY: Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna and Salad

TUESDAY: Hearty Grain Soup with Beans & Greens, crusty French Bread

WEDNESDAY: Leftovers

THURSDAY: Sloppy Lentils over Rice or on Toasted Rolls

FRIDAY: Butternut Squash and Walnut Bow-Tie Pasta, Salad 

And, just to show I have a heart, today I made Blair a big-batch of turkey-chili (his choice - I would have used beef) and spicy Mexican cornbread topped with cheese for him to take for lunch the first part of the week.

I was in my kitchen today for almost 4 hours and I am DONE. But c'mon... admit it. The food sounds tasty. And 80% of it is vegan. (The enchiladas and red pepper lasagna are bringing me down. Both call for types of cheese for which I have yet to find a vegan substitute.)

If you're interested in some easy and good vegetarian recipes (and hey guess what - you don't actually have to be a vegetarian to make them!) check out the Engine2 Diet book. Everything I've made in there so far has been tasty. Vegetariantimes.com is also a great resource.

Bon appetit!

New Year's Resolutions for 2010

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Long time readers of this blog know that I LUV ME some New Year resolutions. Really, anything in list-format gets me excited and New Year resolutions are the mother of all lists. So without further adieu, here are my resolutions/goals/hopes/dreams for 2010:

REDUCE TV VIEWING. This is a carryover resolution from last year. It worked beautifully until about October, when we slid off the wagon. But we're back on and more strict than ever. We'll record So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, and Modern Family and watch back with no commercials. We're cutting out Biggest Loser (maybe- I waver on this) and Big-Bang Theory. Otherwise, no TV except to watch the occasional movie or football game (Blair) and absolutely no channel flipping. 

SOUP. Yes, you read that right. Soup. Soup is my goal for the new year. I have a Vita-Mix which is the world's coolest blender/food processor all in one and I want to start using it more. Specifically, I want to make healthy, homemade soups to eat before each meal, ideally filling myself up so I eat smaller portions at lunch and dinner. It's also a great way to get in my servings of vegetables, which I'm bad about eating. So, 2010- year of Soup. 

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Any Ideas For a Funny Cat Index?

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My editor from Ten Speed Press wrote me to say that she thought my upcoming cat humor book would benefit from having an index. Only, God love her, it's not a real index. It's a humor index, in line with the parody of the rest of the book. So index references may read:

Butt Licking, social.... 48

Butt Licking, hobby... 22

Kibbles - see NOM-NOM-NOM... 18

I love that this is how I spend my day. I spent two hours at Panera (my satellite office for those new to the blog) last week, sipping coffee and brainstorming ideas like, "Toenails as grappling hooks." Who has a better job than me? NO ONE. 

Of course, brainstorming is the fun part. Actually making something of the four pages of scribbled notes is something else. I'd say about 1 in every 8 ideas I come up with is worth keeping. The others are cliche, nonsensical, or just lame. I have no idea how long this index needs to be but I know I've still got hours and hours of work ahead of me. My goal is to have a solid, almost final draft complete before the end of the year. 

Over the holidays some of you may snuggle with loved ones, others may sip eggnog and roast chestnuts, and still others may curl up in front of the TV to watch Christmas specials. As for me, I'll be writing index jokes about dust bunnies, grasshoppers, and the evil moving red dot of light. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. 

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

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Harris Manor, in full snow glory. Click to enlarge. As promised, yesterday at 1 PM, big, fat, white flakes started falling from the sky. By 4:30 when Blair got home, we already had several inches. The snow kept up all night and we woke to a 7-inch layer of undisturbed pristine whiteness.

Undisturbed, that is, until I insisted we go out in it. It's been at least 8 years since we've had anything resembling a decent snow around here and my little mid-western heart was going pitter-patter with excitement. Snowmen! Snowball fights! Sledding! I had to be a part of it.

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