The One About the Starving Vegetarians

I used to think that vegetarians surely were starving themselves. I believed they were all anorexic looking, emaciated model types who were (name the movie), "one stomach virus away from their goal weight" and sure to be a size 00 (a size made only to make the rest of us feel somehow completely inadequate and obese). I mean, why wouldn't you want to eat meat? What would you eat instead? How could you ever get full if you don't eat meat? Well for those keeping track, for the record:  I'm admitting I was wrong, very very wrong.

In an effort to be frugal, healthier, conserve, eat more local foods, and generally have more energy, Eamon and I have been trying to eat vegetarian most nights of the week. We try and only incorporate an actual meat protein twice a week. And its working. For every reason I listed and many more, it's working. You'd be surprised at how much money you can save. I'm not alone in this modern take on vegetarian. And this is no new movement. Back in 2003, Paul McCartney backed the Meatless Monday movement and its popularity soared. This style of eating has been coined flexitarian. I can't say that I am a flex anything. But, the money savings aside what I can tell you is that I enjoy how I feel after a satisfying bowl of rice and beans. Or last weeks lentils, rice, cabbage and carrots. I do have more energy. We do save money and I don't feel like we're just eating rabbit food. And I do feel full. I am by no means starving.

Don't get me wrong, I love a delicious medium rare beef tenderloin, or a well seasoned herb crusted pork tenderloin and I'll take that extra B on my BLT. But this new culinary adventure for me has been exciting and encouraging.  As many of you know, I love to cook. I love to follow new recipes and I am addicted to the Food Network. And trying to find creative meals that do not include a cut of meat has been an entertaining experience. Curry dishes, beans, veggie lasagna, bean soups, chili, chard, frittatas, the list is endless.


I recently watched an episode on the Cooking Channel (as if there weren't enough cooking shows for me to be addicted to on the Food Network, they had to create another channel) called Cooking for Real, with Sunny Anderson. She was making food for the BIG GAME (read: Super Bowl) and was shredding chicken for what she called nachos blanco with roasted jalapeno salsa. A few years ago, the idea of chicken nachos would have had me running to the closet story to buy the juiciest rotisserie bird I could find, but this past weekend my eye caught a different component to those nachos... that roasted jalapeno salsa. I watched as she roasted the garlic, onions and jalapenos in the oven and blended them with cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper. My mouth watered. I couldn't get it out of my mind. So when we put black bean tacos on the menu for a night this week I knew I had to make this salsa. We weren't disappointed. And, I'm not starving (and just to note - it's almost 4 hours post dinner now). Anyway - try it.  I promise you'll add it to your line-up. We enjoyed it with black beans that were sauteed with onion, red pepper, celery and spanish seasonings, rice that we'd cooked with lime zest, and corn tortillas.

Salsa: 

3 green jalapenos, halved and seeded  

2 cloves garlic \

1/2 medium onion  

2 tablespoons olive oil  

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro  

1/4 cup  water or veggie stock  

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice  

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

On a baking sheet toss the jalapeno halves, onion, and garlic with olive oil and arrange so that garlic cloves hide under the cavities of the jalapeno halves. Season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven until the jalapenos begin to blacken and char along with the onions, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place all the ingredients, oil included, into a food processor. Add the cilantro, stock, and lime juice, blend until smooth, taste and season with salt.


More recipes to come in later blogs, but I just had to share this one with the Super Bowl coming up - it's the perfect chip dipper!