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The other week when we picked up our CSA share I was both delighted with the fantastic bounty of fresh produce and overwhelmed at the prospect of finding recipes and altering my menu plan for the week as needed. We’ve been getting fresh veggies from our CSA for about a month now and we’ve loved all the goodies but since the boxes come in on Wednesdays and I plan my week’s menus on the weekend, things just weren’t really working anymore. My menu plan had become more of a hindrance than a helper – and that’s sort of the opposite of useful!

So I decided to start thinking outside the box, abandon my “weekly menu” and just start cooking – with the food we have on hand! Last week I decided to embark on a Week Without Recipes – cooking from the hip you could say, and just using the foods that seemed appropriate each night. It was actually very liberating and, I must say, quite tasty! Here’s what a week (ish) without recipes looked like in our home…

MONDAY

Monday night I decided to throw together some lettuce that had been sitting in our crisper long enough that I knew I was running out of time to use it. I added some fresh cucumber which we seem to never run out of, blueberries (the only fruit that seems to look ripe at the grocery store these days) and a little feta cheese for good measure – another food that’s been lingering in my fridge for awhile. To make the dish more filling I raided the freezer and found some leftover frozen shrimp. After thawing it in the sink for 5 minutes I pan fried it with a little butter and seasonings.

TUESDAY

Tuesdays are almost always spaghetti night at our place and this night was no different. I used up some leftover sauce and being the Penne a la Betsy infatuated momma that I am, I had to add some white wine and heavy cream for good measure.

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday life got in the way of cooking. After a long day of house inspecting and a meeting with the bank where we signed about 100 pieces of paper (buying a house is fun!!) I was the kids were getting hungry and cranky and we decided that going home to cook was not an option so we headed to Culvers for burgers and a strawberry milkshake. Perfection.

THURSDAY

I normally hide cowering from my slow cooker but when I agreed to show my apartment to some potential subletters Thursday night, I knew that trying to cook dinner at the same time would be tough. So that afternoon while the kids were napping, I chopped potatoes and carrots and prepped some purple beans that were apparently green beans in disguise – threw them in our crock pot and added some vegetable broth and herbs (couldn’t tell you which ones I used as I mostly just opened jars and threw in the ones that smelled good but I think rosemary, parsley and a few others were involved). 4 hours on high later and we had a pretty yummy vegetable stew. I heated up some leftover meatloaf to go with.

FRIDAY

Friday night was Mexican night. I mixed up some diced tomatoes, black beans, corn and salsa – added that and some shredded cheese to tortillas (actually just flat bread because that’s what we had), rolled them up in burrito form and pan fried them with lots of oil in a skillet, giving them that perfect crispy texture. You could do this as quesadillas also but the burrito shape holds in the juices a little better.

Kids’ Variations: Miss BB had cheese quesadillas with some corn and black beans on the side. MM who is at the height of pickiness opted for a peanut butter and jelly “quesadilla”

So, as you can see – nothing earth shattering really happened. We actually ate a few fairly common meals for our family, but I think that’s to be expected. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here, you know?

But I was pretty impressed with the quality of the meals that we were able to eat with basically no planning, no measuring, and no recipes. We’re planning to keep up the adventure for the weeks to come so I may follow up on this later with more pictures and commentary.

So I’m going to a BBQ tomorrow night and I signed up to bring a dessert, because, well – I’m that girl – the one who brings dessert. When it comes to cooking, I am much more of a pastry chef than a grill master or a side dish maven. I make dessert.

So you’d think that by now – one day before the event – I’d know what I was bringing. But I cannot make up my mind and still have no idea. Cookies, cupcakes, pie – from scratch, semi-homemade or store bought? I honestly don’t know yet. Part of the problem is that all of those things sound good. Part of the problem is that we are crazy busy and I’m not sure how much time I really have to whip something up or how motivated I’m feeling. We also have a company picnic tomorrow afternoon so that pretty much leaves today and tomorrow morning to throw this together – so I really need to get moving!

So my Aloha Friday question(s)  is/are:

What is your favorite dessert to make and / or eat? What dessert would you make if you only had until basically 10am tomorrow to make it happen?

Kailani @ An Island Life takes it easy on Fridays by posting a simple question for you to answer – and she invites you to do the same. Just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

I just finished reading EATING FOR BEGINNERS, a new memoir by Melanie Rehak who you might remember from her book Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Woman Who Created Her. In this book Rehak explores all the places food comes from, trying to really understand the choices she is making when deciding what to eat (and what to feed her picky toddler). She joins the kitchen staff of a small Brooklyn restaurant, visits local farms and suppliers, battles sea sickness on a fishing boat and attempts to get her son to eat more than just cocktail party foods.

It’s kind of like the Omnivores Dilemma for mothers – except I think everyone should read it, not just parents. I found the book so accessable and enjoyable to read – her writing style is conversational in all the best ways but with content that is informative and with the potential to really broaden your view of the food industry. If you have a passion for eating local foods or are interested in why some people do, this book is a real eye opener but it’s also totally guilt-free. Rehak is all about doing what works best in every situation – and if that means frozen chicken nuggets, that’s fine!

The book reads like a good friend sharing her experiences and giving all the best information she can in the most accessible way. I love how expertly Rehak combines her parental anecdotes  with tales of restaurant and farm life – with some fun recipes and silliness thrown in! It had me laughing on a nightly basis, drooling over delicious descriptions of food, ear marking recipes and quoting passages out loud to my husband constantly! I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best books I’ve read this year and maybe ever – I want to share this book with everyone I know!

BUY IT!

You can get your own copy of Eating for Beginners at local booksellers and online retailers like Amazon.com.

WIN IT!

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin, I’m giving away 10 copies of Eating for Beginners at Mommas Review! Head over there for a chance to win – the giveaway ends July 27th at 12pm EST.

I’ve been reading this fantastic book called Eating for Beginners by Melanie Rehak. It’s what I wanted The Omnivore’s Dilemma to be and then some. Speculation and information on the food industry, organic and local food and why they matter, tales of her experiences working in a restaurant kitchen and helping out local farms and cooking with her family and cooking for her picky toddler. It manages to be so utterly relateable and also shares stories of experiences most of us have never had, but from the perspective of someone just like us.

I’ll refrain from writing my real review here (so tempting as I have so much to say already and I’m only halfway through!) and get on to my question for the day. Anyway, last night I was reading about her attempt to cook this really complicated lobster recipe with some friends and her husband and the descriptions of the procedure sounded daunting but also kind of fun.

I don’t know that I want to tackle a recipe that complicated yet but it did get me to thinking I’d like to start cooking more real food – spend some more time with natural, basic ingredients and be a bit more adventurous in the kitchen. I’d love to be one of those people who doesn’t even need a recipe – who can just reach into the fridge and grab a handful of things and just whip something up.

So my Aloha Friday question(s)  is/are:

What kind of a cook are you?

Do you make complicated recipes or cook from the box?

What kind of cook would you like to be?

What’s your favorite recipe to cook? What recipe are you dying to try?

Kailani @ An Island Life takes it easy on Fridays by posting a simple question for you to answer – and she invites you to do the same. Just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Grade: B+

I have been trying to get my hands on a Mia King book since I first found out about the hugely popular author a few months ago. She is well known in the blogging circles for her books which combine topics like marriage, parenting, career and self identity and much more.

In Sweet Life, which I was lucky enough to find a copy of in my local library, King tells the story of Marissa Price who drops everything to move to Hawaii with her husband Paul and their daughter Pansy after Paul lands a job at a hotel on the main island but needs to start right away. Leaving behind a high powered career for the laid back lifestyle of a stay at home mom, Marissa who is very driven and career oriented, had a pretty hard time adjusting to her new life in “paradise” – and the move did not come without its set backs and compromises.

Although Wisconsin and Hawaii are about as different as night and day, their very fast move to a completely new place was a topic I could relate to intimately. We moved to a new state where we knew nobody last year and although we love it here, it hasn’t been an entirely easy transition. The descriptions of their whirlwind move had me nodding along and laughing (and kind of wishing my move had come with a tropical island, but…) at the culture shock of such a fast move.

Unfortunately for Marissa, their move was definitely way more of an adjustment than ours – shortly after arriving in Paradise, Marissa and Paul’s already existent marriage problems came to a major head and they quickly find themselves on the path to divorce, entering the dating world and trying to deal with money problems on their own – in Hawaii of all places. It’s not really until everything falls apart that Marissa tries to adapt to her new home and find a way to make things work.

A big theme in this book was first impressions and how they are usually wrong. Marissa has to learn the hard way that judging people and places based off of first impressions has the potential to lead to disaster and at the very least can prevent you from meeting amazing people and experiencing new things.

I was very quickly sucked into this book and devoured it in record time. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great, classic chick lit book – especially parents as a great light read style book about moms isn’t always easy to find – and this one is fantastic.

A major bonus to an already sweet tale was a sampling of Hawaii-inspired recipes like a chocolate lava cake which I made this weekend. Their recipe was for 6 people but I adapted it for the perfect little dessert for two and it was absolutely delicious!

Here’s our adaptation on a quick and easy homemade chocolate lava cake:

From Chef Keoni Chang, Foodland Super Market Ltd. (Sweet Life by Mia King)

• Serves: 2
• Recipe can be made one day ahead. Just cover and refrigerate and bake for 14 minutes instead of 11.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3.5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450. Butter two 3/4 cup souffle dishes or custard cups.
2. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk eggs and egg yolk in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour.
4. Pour batter into dishes, dividing equally.
5. Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes.
6. Run a small knife around the cakes to loosen.
7. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Serve with ice cream and fresh raspberries.

Tiffany at Simple Modern Mom had this stellar idea to share our most loved / over-used recipes we make so often we could practically prepare them blindfolded. The idea is pretty basic – link up your tried and trues at her blog and check out the recipes other participants have been making for their families. The goal is to broaden our dinnertime options with already tried and truly loved meals. Sound like fun? Link up your own recipes and then check out what’s cooking at Simply Modern Mom.

Here in our lovely little Wisconsin abode we’ve been enjoying a lot of seafood and vegetarian dishes since switching to a pescetarian diet a few months ago. I’ve got a nice assortment of recipes but I’m always looking for more – especially meals that are less expensive with more staple ingredients. Anyway, here are six of the recipes that have been rocking our world:

Parmesan Baked Salmon

Recipe Info

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Total Time: 25 min
• Makes: 2 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 2 salmon fillets (1/2 lb.), skin removed
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 5 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. HEAT oven to 400°F.
2. MIX mayo, cheese and pepper until well blended; set aside.
3. PLACE fish in shallow foil-lined pan; drizzle with lemon juice. Top with mayo mixture; spread to evenly cover fish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs.
4. BAKE 12 to 15 min. or until fish flakes easily with fork.
5. We typically serve the fish with couscous or jasmine rice and if I’m lucky my husband cooks up some lightly glazed carrots, too.

Another fabulous seafood recipe that we love is The Pioneer Woman’s Penne a la Betsy

Recipe Info

• Prep Time: 25 Minutes
• Cook Time: 25 Minutes
• Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 6 oz pounds Penne Pasta
• 1/2 pound Shrimp
• 1.5 Tablespoons Butter
• 1.5 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 whole Onion (small)
• 1 cloves Garlic
• 1/4 cups White Wine (or To Taste)
• 1/2 can Tomato Sauce (4 Oz)
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Parsley, to taste
• Fresh Basil – To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste

Directions

1. Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.
2. Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp.
3. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
4. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.
5. Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
6. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally.
7. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).
8. Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
9. Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.
10. Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

One of my new favorite foods is eggplant and it’s all thanks to this recipe. I appologize, I don’t remember where we found it…

Eggplant Parmesan

Recipe Info

• Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Servings: 4
• Calories: 282

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2-1 cup marinara sauce
• Basil (optional)

Directions

1. IMPORTANT: Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch slices, then liberally coat with salt and set in a colander for 1 hour to drain. Rinse the excess salt from the eggplant and pat dry.
2. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the soy milk and egg replacer and mix well.
4. In another medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the salt and pepper.
5. Set up a breading station with one bowl for each: flour, egg replacer mixture, and bread crumb mixture. Dredge the eggplant in flour and shake off the excess. Submerge the eggplant in the egg replacer mixture, shake off the excess, and then coat evenly with bread crumbs.
6. Place the eggplant in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the eggplant is crisp on the outside and tender inside.
7. Serve topped with marinara and chopped basil, if desired.

We just recently found this great Quesadilla recipe at the Tasty Kitchen and it’s quickly become a favorite of mine. We just had this for dinner last night…

Tomato and Black Bean Quesadillas

Recipe Info

• Prep Time 10 Minutes
• Cook Time 10 Minutes
• Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 1 can Diced Tomatoes, Drained
• ½ can Black Beans, Rinsed
• ½ cup Frozen Whole Kernel Corn, Thawed
• ¼ cup Chopped Onion
• 1 tablespoon Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• ⅛ teaspoons Garlic Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• 1-½ teaspoon Lime Juice
• ¾ cup Shredded Mexican Cheese
• 3 whole Flour Tortillas

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except cheese and tortillas. This can be eaten immediately, or let it sit for a few hours or overnight to really bring out the flavors. Feel free to use dried cilantro if you don’t have fresh, and add more cayenne if you would like it with more heat.
2. To make the quesadillas, heat up a lightly sprayed nonstick pan and place a tortilla in it. Sprinkle cheese over half the tortilla, then cover that half with the tomato black bean mixture. Add another layer of cheese and then fold the other half of the tortilla on top. Cook for a few minutes, and then flip and cook the other side. This should be long enough to get it crispy golden outside, while melting the cheese and warming up the salsa on the inside.
3. Save any leftovers to eat as salsa, a topping for a Mexican salad, in a burrito, or to make more quesadillas!

This French Onion Soup recipe is so easy to make and absolutely delicious – it’s also a pretty inexpensive meal, most of the ingredients are things we always have on hand. Use leftover french bread later in the week to make french toast or serve on the side of a pasta dish.

Recipe Info

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Servings: 4
• Calories: 394

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 8 oz. of sliced French bread
• 4 oz. your favorite cheese

Directions

1. Heat the oil or water in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour and stir until the onions are well coated.
4. Add the water and soy sauce or tamari and stir well.
5. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer, covered, until the onions are tender, about 45 minutes. Add more water if the soup becomes too thick.
6. Serve in individual bowls topped with the French bread and cheddar cheese.

Alright and lastly, this recipe from Real Simple for Samosas is easy, tasty and reheats well.

Recipe Info

• Serves: 12
• Hands-On Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 cups (about 16 ounces) mashed potatoes
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
• 1 15-ounce package refrigerated piecrusts
• 1 jar mango chutney (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the potatoes and peas.
3. Unroll the piecrusts and cut each into 6 triangles. Place a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture in the center of each piece. Gather the corners of the dough and pinch to form a point. Pinch the seams to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet.
4. Bake the samosas until golden, about 25 minutes. Serve with the mango chutney, if desired.

I’m back with another month of menu planning!

For those who’ve never planned a month long menu or haven’t read my little posts on them before, here’s the deal: Rather than planning my family dinners night by night, or week by week, I’ve taken the habit of planning out one menu for an entire month. This makes my grocery shopping much easier since I’ve already decided what dinners I’ll be making, I only have to pick up the ingredients missing for that week and the very regular cast of breakfast and lunch foods.

And the looming nightly dinners are now much less intimidating. No longer having to stand in front of the refrigerator scratching my head, trying desperately to figure out something nutritious and delicious to make for dinner? Love that. And by doing this monthly rather than weekly, it leaves more time for life in the days in between. It isn’t rocket science, and thanks goes to Simple Mom who inspired me with this idea.

Here’s my monthly menu plan for the month of December:

Week One

• Saturday November 28: out to eat
• Sunday: Quick and Easy Samosas (we used lima beans instead of peas) with mango chutney and Asian Pears
• Monday: Portobello Mushroom Burgers
• Tuesday December 1: dinner out (Dan’s co-worker)
• Wednesday: Eggplant Parmesan
• Thursday: French Onion Soup
• Friday: Parmesan Baked (wild caught) Salmon

Week Two

• Saturday December 5: Homemade Pizza (pear and gorgonzola) topped with romaine salad
• Sunday: Spinach Pesto Pasta
• Monday: Fajitas
• Tuesday: Salad and Cheese Ravioli in a tomato sauce
• Wednesday: Grilled Cheese and Soup
• Thursday: Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower
• Friday: Salmon Burgers & Macaroni and Cheese

Week Three:

• Saturday December 12: Vegetarian Meatloaf
• Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes with and Fresh Fruit and Boca Breakfast Sausage
• Monday: Frozen Pizza
• Tuesday: Spaghetti with Diced Tomatoes and Boca Crumbles
• Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese with broccoli
• Thursday: Grilled Cheese and Soup
• Friday: Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Sauce

Week Four:

• Saturday December 19: Greektown Pizza
• Sunday: The Pioneer Woman’s Lazy Chiles Rellenos
• Monday: Jen and Vic’s Mac and Cheese
• Tuesday: Spaghetti with Boca Crumbles and Spaghetti Sauce
• Wednesday: Asian Noodles with tofu & veggies
• Thursday December 24: out to eat
• Friday December 25: Eggplant Parmesan

Week Five:

• Saturday December 26: Three Cheese Calzones
• Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner: French Toast with Fresh Fruit and boca bacon
• Monday: Spaghetti with Sweet Potatoes and Ricotta
• Tuesday: Fettucini Alfredo with Tofu and Broccoli
• Wednesday: Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
• Thursday December 31: chinese food
• Friday January 1: Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

header courtesy of samulli.com

I’ve been stumbling across decadent dessert after decadent dessert lately, saving the links to all those gorgeous looking goodies, knowing I may never find time to try them all, but it doesn’t stop me from drooling. Want to drool along with me?

1. I first had a tollhouse pie at a little restaurant in Ohio on our road trip style move to Wisconsin this summer. I’m dying to make one and when I do, I plan to use this recipe.
2. Southern Plate has a great recipe for peanut butter balls. When I’m not craving chocolate, I’m craving peanut butter (although let’s face it, I’m usually craving both simultaneously). This looks like a great recipe to make with MM.
3. I think this recipe at Real Simple for a chocolate cherry walnut bread looks really good. I might just ask my husband to make me this one.
4. I love macaroons so I’d love to make this lemony almond macaroons recipe, also from Real Simple.
5. These pumpkin pie bites at Bakerella look delicious and so tiny they must be guilt free!
6. I’ve got a bottle of Limoncello in the fridge with Rachel Ray’s Limoncello and Lemon Cream Fruit Tart‘s name on it.
7. This Snowball Cake at Kraft Food & Family looks so cute and I’m guessing it’s just as tasty.
8. These double chocolate chip cookies at Real Simple are right up my alley. Maybe once all the cookies from my last baking spree are gone I’ll whip up some of these…
9. This sweet potato buttermilk pie at Smitten Kitchen might just be the new pumpkin pie in my life.
10. I’m also digging on Smitten Kitchen‘s raisin-studded apple bread pudding.
11. When I saw on Lifehacker that you can make cookies in 90 seconds with your waffle iron… well let’s just say I swooned audibly.
12. I still need to try making this easy apple cider recipe from the A to Z twins with a mystery secret ingredient.
13. And last but certainly not least – this recipe will be baking in my oven tomorrow night for my husband’s birthday. I can hardly stand the anticipation – The Pioneer Woman‘s chocolate sheet cake is said to illicit marriage proposals. Since I’m already married I’m just hoping for extra jewelry.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what being a vegetarian will mean for me. What are the boundary lines? Why am I doing this? What will this mean for my children?

While I will admit that the whole eating meat thing has always bothered me a little bit – that I have had to try to disassociate that chicken on my plate from the chickens in my father’s coop (yes, my father raises chickens) that really has little to do with my choice to stop eating (or really buying) meat. My beef has more to do with the meat industry in general. The way the animals we eat are treated on their way to our dinner plate. I liken it to torture.

Humans have been eating meat pretty much as long as we’ve been around. At one point it was a hunt for survival and generally, from what I understand, we tried to make that kill worth it. We used their skins to make clothing and blankets, the teeth and bones were put to use also I think. We didn’t waste for our wants and those animals had a somewhat fair shot at a good life before their end. It was, you could say, the circle of life.

Now money is involved. And ethics, in my opinion, aren’t being met. And there are the hormones and drugs being pumped into the animals. And the diets they are being fed that are unnatural and unhealthy for the poor things (But cheaper!) is just another bullet on the list of why I decided to say no more to the whole thing. Because we do live in a society with other options. The sheer popularity of the veggie / vegan lifestyle has given us a lot of options, entire aisles devote themselves to it in your grocery store and entire grocery stores have cropped up to give even more choices. It’s out there man.

Which is not to say it will be easy. It’s not to say it will be inexpensive (it might be, I’ll let you know). But I think like any diet, there will be more expensive and less expensive options depending on your price range and cooking skills.

And then of course there is what to do when we’re at a restaurant or a friend or family members house. I know several vegetarians of several different varieties (because not all vegetarians follow the same rules). Anyway here are the rules I am establishing (at the moment) and the protocols we will follow.

• If I’m paying, it won’t be meat. So if we are at a restaurant or the grocery store, it’s vegetarian.
• However, for the time being we will still eat fish as long as we are mostly sure it’s wild caught.
• And if we ever find a good deal on meat that was raised in much better circumstances (think your idea of a family farm) I might splurge for it, for the sake of my poor carnivorous husband.
• When we are at a friend’s house or a family member’s I will probably eat whatever they put in front of me. It was their money and their choice – their house, their rules. If they want to cook vegetarian for me, I’ll be honored – but this isn’t about “the very idea of eating meat disgusts me” so I won’t pretend it does. It’s a choice I’m making. End of discussion.
• The same goes for my kids.
• We will also not be going vegan. Eggs, dairy, all that jazz – it’s still in the mix. I have switched to organic milk for the time being and I can tell you if we were still in New England, I’d be buying my eggs from my father whose chickens are seriously living the good life.

All of this, of course, is subject to change. But that’s how I see it going down for now.

Also, in case your curious here are some resources I’ve read, watched, etc. that ultimately led to all of this for me:

• The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan was the first book I read on the subject. It was a real eye opener for me.
• One of my favorite celebrities, Ellen Degeneres talks about being vegan frequently on her show. Here are some of her reasons.
• But what about Thanksgiving??? Here’s a recipe that Ellen’s personal vegan chef Roberto Martin has made for her.
• I haven’t read his book but hearing Jonathan Safran Foer’s interview with Ellen discussing his new book Eating Animals was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. I also read this review of the book at the LA Times.
• After watching his interview, I thought, “But seriously Ellen, what about protein?” And her website told me, “Seriously Jen, it’s easy.” The following are all excellent sources of protein: Tempeh (a common meat substitute), Seitan (a common meat substitute), Soybeans, Lentils, Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Chickpeas, Pinto beans, Black-eyed peas, Tofu (firm), Bagel with Peanut Butter, Almonds, Soy Milk, Soy Yogurt, Sunflower Seeds, Spaghetti, Cashews, Brown Rice, Broccoli and Potatoes.

Confused about terminology?

• Vegan: A person who does not eat or use animal products of any kind (including meat, dairy and leather items).
• Vegetarian: A person who does not eat meat products.
• Pescetarian: A person who eats no meat products with the exception of fish. A lot of people will use this as a bridge to convert to vegetarianism.
• Tofu: A soft, high-protein food made from soybean milk.
• Tempeh: A food that originated in Indonesia, made from cultured soybeans. Since it retains the whole soybean (unlike tofu), it is a source of higher protein, fiber and vitamins. It also has firmer texture and stronger flavor, and is a widely used meat substitute.
• Seitan: A meat substitute made entirely of wheat gluten. It is an alternative to soybean-based substitutes like tofu, and has texture and consistency very similar to meat.

Read more: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/thoughts/#ixzz0WZjeojPM

What do you do when your bananas are a little too mushy to eat? When you know what’s good for you, you make banana bread – or freeze them until you have time to make banana bread. My stepmother (who gave me this recipe) gave me the great tip to just put the bananas, skin and all, in the freezer. When you thaw them and slice the banana open it will be perfectly mushy for your banana bread purposes.

To celebrate the end of Letter B Week we made her homemade banana bread because of the great Double B’s and because it’s delicious. The best banana bread I’ve ever had and you all need to try it.

So my husband made MM a paper chefs hat and we pulled out the little apron and oven mitt that we got him for Christmas a couple years back and we all went in the kitchen and baked banana bread together. We don’t do this very often but maybe we should because it was spectacular. Dan was in charge of documenting the occasion so that I could put some pictures in the ABC scrapbook I’m making MM when this is all done. There are a ton of pictures from Banana Bread night and I made a little collage of some of the best for the book but I wanted to post a bunch of them individually here because there are some real gems. I’ll post the recipe at the bottom of the post.

These days when I ask MM to smile for the camera, I get strange looks like this one. Little does he know, I think it’s hilarious and adorable and it will not stop me from taking his picture. By the way, please notice that he’s wearing an all-blue outfit because The Color Of The Day was Blue and Blue starts with the Letter B. Thanks. Moving on.

This is just a quick shot to show off our respective aprons. We got MM’s at the Christmas Tree Shop way back when. Mine was made by my amazing friend Amanda @ Funkepunkemonke.

Dan the Man wrapped up little miss Baby Blueberry in our Moby Wrap so she could face out and watch all the festivities and his hands could be free to document everything, including the two of them being cute.

I did let him use the mixer to help me cream the shortening, but I did not personally let go of the mixer. I’m not crazy.

I put him to work on clean up, throwing egg shells in the sink, putting things away and throwing away any empty packages. Because I’m smart and he thought it was fun.

I also let him help me sift flour and other dry ingredients. This turned out to be difficult for him because you have to squeeze pretty hard and he has small hands but he was a trooper and kept trying for a while. Although eventually I finished it, he seemed more impressed with my sifting skills when he saw how hard it was. :OP

Of course he loved mashing the bananas for me and did a great job on this part. He’s a natural masher of mush.

Stirring it all together at the end…

then pouring the whole thing into the pan…

Of course we had to turn on the light so he could watch it bake.

It came out fantastic and we’ve been eating it for breakfast each morning since. Delicious. Alright, here’s the recipe for anyone who wants in on the world’s best banana bread.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream shortening and add sugar gradually.
3. Then add the well beaten eggs.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Add this alternately with milk and bananas. Then add vanilla.
6. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake for 45-75 minutes or until a toothpick can come out of bread clean.
7. Enjoy!

Calorie Info: If you divide this into 16 servings there will be 210 calories in each slice. Smear it with some peanut butter (about 5 grams should do it, this is an added 30 calories if you use JIF creamy regular) and you are good to go.