The Arugula...I mean the Red Chard was not so bad!

Correction on my last post.  What I thought was arugula was actually red chard.  Yeah, big difference.  I thought it looked intriguing in its wicker basket at the organic farm's stand at the farmer's market, so I picked some up...with absolutely no idea what I was gettng into.  I googled some ideas for preparation and found several sites that mentioned sauteeing it in a little oil and salt and pepper.  Now, I'm not clear on whether or not chard must be cooked in order to be consumed healthily, but it sounded better than predictable green salad.

After heating the skillet on medium high with a little veggie oil, I threw in some garlic and white onion and let that cook for a few minutes.  Right before throwing in the chard, which I chopped into fourths, I added lemon juice to the skillet.  Then I cooked the veggies for a few minutes, until they were soft.  The result was hot, chewy, tasteful greens!!  I'm SO proud of myself!  I've had a few vegan experiments (vegan mac & cheese to be specific) that did not turn out so tasty (even my garbage-disposable type husband wouldn't eat it!  But lets be honest, some things are just not meant to be vegan).  Next time I'll cook the chard a minute or two longer, and perhaps had the lemon juice to the final result.

Add to the meal fresh corm on the cob, quinoa, left over salad and beans, and you have a complete week night meal!  Those of you experienced cooks out there may have even better suggestions.

Farmer's Market=Love!

With the evolution of my vegan self came the understanding that buying local, whenever possible, is the best practice. Not only is it healthier because the produce is fresher, but also more sustainable because it supports the local economy as well as reduces transportation costs (and fuel consumption). My area is surrounded by farms and during the spring, summer, and fall, there is the best farmers market. I don't know why I waited so long to go! I think I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of making friends with vegetables. But since I'm going vegan it was inevitable that at some point in my meat and dairy free life I would need to gain exposure to fresh veggies.




My first experience was success! Local musicians playing bluegrass music were there, easing me into the up-close-and-personal-with-veggies experience, and now I have a happy association with the smell of fresh produce. I was glad to see farmers, dressed in their best over-alls (I'm not exaggerating, some of them really WERE wearing over-alls!) talking with their customers, discussing farming practices.



This is how food should be sold, I thought. To know where its coming from and who is producing it, not to mention how its produced (Is it organic? Do they exploit their workers?) is something that used to be the norm. When did we become so disconnected from what we eat? Buying veggies, albeit slightly overwhelming, was, dare I say it, a pleasurable experience! I actually had FUN!! I even enjoyed the smell of fresh corn harvested THAT morning!! What a treat to have FRESH vegetables!



Growing up on a pacific island, our food choices were sometimes limited and we most often ate frozen or canned veggies. Once, when we were visiting some folks in the States, they picked green beans from their garden and had them that night for dinner. I remember being hesitant to try them, so my experience with the stuff consisted of mushy, overcooked, tasteless, canned beans. I was shocked at how good the fresh legumes were and I even ate a third helping. Perhaps this is how eating really should be.



Today I discovered that, up close and personal, veggies really aren't so bad. I feel healthier already. Now I just have to figure out how to perpare arugula...

The World's Most Unhealthy Vegetarian

Recently I started my journey as a vegetarian. I decided to become veg primarily because of health reasons, but as I've researched, I've found a plethora of motivation. However, its hard to be veg when you don't like vegetables! This is why I've dubbed myself "The World's Most Unhealthy Vegetarian". As it turns out, vegetables are the primary ingredient of a veg's diet. Wish I'd known this back in Janurary! Not only have I had to start actually eating vegetables, but I've decided to try to go vegan (for reasons that I'll someday, maybe in another 3 months, post on the blog) and so that eliminates the tasty food that helps veggies not taste like veggies: Cheese! And to top it all off, I recently discovered that the veggies I actually like (tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants) are of the nightshade family, which are full of alkalines and not great for you in large quantities. So long, eggplant stiry fry recipes, tomatoes on everything, and french fries.




So what HAVE I been eating, you may ask? Still lots of TV dinners, of the veggie orientation, ramen noodles, and PB & J sandwhiches. Maybe I should eat some broccoli or two, there's not a lot of fiber in that diet.