This week's menu - Focus: No meat!

As I mentioned in our recent Facebook post, we were inspired this week to revisit our almost-meatless days by our Nurse Practitioner Amber Morrow. We all had dinner at Tari's last night, where they usually have a nice selection of meatless dinners, and she and Willa (our 18-year old) both chose one of those. I got the beef tips, but theirs actually looked tastier (although the beef tips were very good...) When our family moved to Berkeley Springs 13 years ago, we were strict vegetarians. However, after about 3 years of living here, where being vegetarian meant you had to pick the bacon out of the green beans, or deal with the fact that your black bean soup had lard in it, combined with fact that our favorite hangout, The Troubadour Lounge, was purported to have the best steak in the universe (and it does), we were eating meat fairly regularly. So this week we're going to try toning down the meat, and increasing the veggies. You don't have to be a nutritionist to know that more vegetables and less meat is better for your health: the vegetables on your plate should take up at least 1/2 the space, with the other half divided equally between lean protein and whole grains. Here is this week's menu, with links to the recipes.

I found most of these recipes on two of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen and Serious Eats. If you're ever feeling bored with menu planning, I challenge you to spend 15 minutes on either one of these blogs and not be drooling with anticipation, inspiration, and a shopping list in hand.

Chana masala

Indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes

Jasmine basmati rice (you can buy this at Martin's grocery store, or any grocery store with a good selection)

Store-bought naan bread (even our poor old Food Lion usually carries this)

Huevos rancheros

Herbed green beans (really, just steamed green beans with some garlic- and rosemary infused olive oil dressing)

Pasta with garlic and broccoli 

This is easy: 

1. Start your pasta water boiling; steam 1 large clump of broccoli per person until bright green but not limp 
2. In a large saute pan, saute about 3-4 cloves (or more if you like) of very very thinly sliced FRESH garlic -- not that junk in a jar -- in about 4 tablespoons of good olive oil. Shake in a little dried chili pepper
3. Cook the pasta
4. Toss the cooked broccoli with the sauteed garlic until coated. Add more olive oil if desired, and salt and pepper to taste. If you like parmesan cheese, sprinkle on some freshly grated cheese. Serve with some good French or Italian bread.

Vidalia onion soup with croutons

Green salad

Pan fried tofu with dark sweet sesame sauce

Asparagus sautéed in (purchased) black bean sauce

Either rice or udon noodles

You'll notice that none of these recipes are American. Sadly, there is not a lot of traditional American food that's vegetarian. In Asian countries, meat is often more of a condiment. In India, beef is forbidden to the Hindus, and other meat can be scarce. Anyway, it's fun to cook with different ingredients, and combine old ones in interesting new ways. If you're stuck in a food rut, try some of these!