who's hungry?

November 1998 I stopped eating meat after being totally grossed out by deer carcases proudly displayed on every car hood in town.

October 2001 I have been in college for a month and the cafeteria has few vegetarian options. I'm hungry and too poor to get my own groceries so I start eating the tuna. I continue to eat seafood but still avoid all other meats for the next several years.

April 2007 I take a pregnancy test, it's positive, I resolved to give in to any food cravings for the next 9 months. 1st up: fried chicken. I've been eating all foods ever since (except celery and mushrooms, yuck).

I've been considering going back to vegetarian side for a while now, I even planned on going vegan for a few weeks just as a sort of cleansing diet. My dad keeps making good food though, like ribs in our new smoker grill, and most nights it's just him and I that sit down to eat dinner.

My solution is that when I cook dinner I will try to make a (mostly) vegetarian meal and see if I can make meat a 'once-in-a-while' food.

Last night I made some pizzas. I made one that didn't turn out too well and so we won't talk about that one, but I made another one that was DELICIOUS.

Separate the sides of pita bread so that you have two thin round pieces. Pile on goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and sun dried tomatoes. Bake at 400 for 15ish min and finally toss on some diced up basil. Mmmmmmmmmm. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar over it just before you eat.

I had leftover ingredients and stuffed them all in the pita pockets and put it under the broiler for a few min for lunch today.

The night before I made this:



These zucchini "crab" cakes that were yummy. (There isn't really any crab in them)

Chiles Rellenos (stuffed poblano peppers):

Scorch the outside of the peppers with an open flame from your gas stove or put them under the broiler until they are black and blistered all over then stick them in a plastic bag to let them "sweat" for a while.

Cook up what you plan on stuffing them with. I cooked together onion, cactus, eggplant, tomatoes, and corn until the onion was soft.

Now you can take off the skin of the peppers...but be careful! Wear gloves if you have any cuts and make sure all the babies are being cared for by someone else far away from the kitchen sink. Run the peppers under cold water as you slide the skin off and wash your hands often so you don't accidentally rub your eyes or pick up your baby with fire fingers. (This dish isn't really spicy at all after you finish, I promise)

Cut a slit in the peppers and cut out the guts (that's the spicy part, watch it go down the disposal)

Stuff the peppers with your filling, add cheese too if you want, and "sew" them back together with toothpicks.

Whip three egg whites together (for four-five peppers) until fluffy and then mix in the yolks. Dust the peppers with flour and cover them with the egg mixture and then set them in some hot oil and fry those suckers till they are golden.

Put any left over stuffing on your plate as a bed for your chiles rellenos and top with any remaining cheese.

These are fricken awesome.

Finally the pretty little things inthe middle of the picture:

Blackberry Cornbread Tartlets with Ricotta Cream via Vegetarian Times:

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal + 1/2 cup unbleached (white) flour* (I used whole wheat) + 3Tbs sugar +1 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl.

1/2 cup milk whisked with 1 large egg, fold into dry mixture.

Add 2 Tbs melted unsalted butter and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels.

Bake the corn muffins at 375 for 14ish minutes.

Whisk 1 cup ricotta cheese + 1/4 cup sugar + 1.5 tsp vanilla extract + 1/2 tsp orange zest.

After the cornbread has sufficiently cooled, cut off the tops to make a flat surface and plop some cream on each and top with blackberries. I used frozen berries, but if you use fresh ones you should toss them with a little sugar and a pinch of salt ahead of time and let them rest so they'll be juicier.
Now if you made it to the end of this post you get a little treat...