UPDATE:

I have finally acquired Joe's camera and will now be taking pictures of my food!

Tomorrow I start the South Beach Diet to lose some of the weight I've gained from eating all of my baked goods. I have studied the recipes and I know I can do it. Starting tomorrow, I will show most of the food I make so if anyone else wants to get in on a little South Beach action they can.

I'm also going to track my weight loss, which I hope will reach the 20lb mark by my birthday. 

So until tomorrow, I'll leave you with a great dish I made the other night; Chicken stuffed with Feta and Spinach.

Chicken Stuffed with Feta and Spinach:

1 Chicken breast per person

2 Cups spinach (I like baby spinach)

1/4 Cup feta cheese

1/2 onion - diced

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 365

Beat the chicken breasts so they are flat and thin and season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Dice the onion and saute in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add spinach to onions to wilt.

Once the spinach is cooked, add the feta chese and some salt and pepper.

Add the spinach and cheese mixture to the chicken and roll up the chicken.

Using a toothpick to hold the chicken together works really well.

Lay the chicken on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with some olive oil.

The cook time will depend on how thin the chicken breasts are. They should take around 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Vegan Raspberry Coffee Cake

I have been experiementing with vegan desserts lately and that's for 2 reasons:

1. Joe is lactose intolerant.

2. We have not had eggs for a while

This is the best dessert i have come across.

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup Earth Balance Margarine melted (Vegan butter)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 pinch of salt

1 3/4 cup flour

Combine the ingredients and let sit while you assemble the cake.

Cake

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup soymilk + 1 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

1-2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup raspberry jam

Combine all ingredients except the jam.

Once the cake is in the pan, spoon the jam on top and then sprinkle the crumb topping on top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

Spinach Pesto & Tofu Curry

Hello Everyone,

I have finally moved into my new apartment and have been cooking and baking up a storm. It seems like every time I look, I'm cooking something new.

I'm still going on strong with my vegetarian diet and find it easier than ever now.

The last two things I made in my kitchen were spinach pesto and red tofu curry. I just ate the curry and put the pesto in the refridgerator for later on in the week.

Spinach Pesto:

1/2 Bag baby spinach

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese

1/3 Cup olive oil

1/4 Cup toasted breadcrumbs

2 Cloves garlic

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and add salt and pepper to taste.

Tofu Curry: 

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. paprika

4 Tbsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. cumin

1 can vegetable stock

1 can tomatoes

Tofu

1/2 cup plain yogurt

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

Making curry takes a little work but it's so worth it!

1. Saute the onions with the olive oil and butter until the onions are brown (about 10 minutes)

2. Add the garlic when the onions are almost completely brown and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Take the onion/garlic mixture and combine it in a food processor.

4. Add the mixture back into the pan and add cinnamon, paprika, cumin, ginger, tumeric, curry powder and sugar. Mix until it becomes a paste.

5. Cook the paste through and add the vegetable stock and tomatos.

6. Mix well.

7. Simmer for around 20 minutes.

8. Add tofu, cayenne pepper and yogurt to pot.

9. Simmer for as long as 3 hours or as short as 30 more minutes.

Serve over rice!

Enjoy!

Here's The Deal...

I am moving to a new apartment on Saturday(!) which means I will actually have a kitchen to cook in. I'm not sure I can adequately express how excited I am via the internet but if you know me, you know this is a HUGE deal.

Personally, I love blogs that show pictures of the food they are speaking about. I am going to ask Joe really nicely if I can use his digital camera in order to broadcast pictures of my new vegetarian cuisine. 

I'm hoping that this will make my blog a lot more interesting and relevant and possibly introduce people to the great foods you can make without meat. 

With that being said....

I made an incredible minestrone soup the other night. Joe said it was the tastiest thing i've ever made -- talk about a compliment.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup:

3 Cups Vegetable Stock

1 Can of Beans (I use black beans)

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1/3 Cup Onions

1/3 Cup Carrots

1/3 Cup Celery 

1/3 Cup Zucchini (Optional)

Other vegetables you would like to throw in

2 Cloves of Garlic (minced)

Pasta

1. Saute the onions in a little olive oil until translucent.

2. Add the beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, other vegetables and vegetable stock.

3. Mix the mixture and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. 

4. Add the pasta to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Check the pasta for doneness and eat!

Tofu....?

Some of you might not believe it but...I like tofu.

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the curds into blocks. It is super versatile and tastes like whatever you cook it with.

Right now, I am eating a delicious red curry I made with chicken and tofu. I added the chicken for my boyfriend and the tofu for me. The tofu has soaked up all the curry flavor and is absolutely delicious.

Tofu can go in anything...curry, stir fries, omelets, pasta dishes....

Before you rule it out, try it once and learn for yourself that it's not that bad!

Feta Cheese Dip

Hey Everyone!

I'm doing really well with sticking to my new vegetarian diet. Since I used to eat a lot of meat, I now have to do a lot of substitutions and that is making me try a bunch of new foods.

One food group that I have always been familiar with is dairy. I love cheese. I really love cheese. I was at Trader Joes this week and bought some feta cheese. Since Joe is lactose intolerant, I decided to make myself a little dip that I could eat throughout the week instead of using it for our meals.

This dip is so simple and so so good.

Feta Cheese Dip

6oz Feta cheese

1 Clove garlic

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

Dash of pepper

I encourage everyone to try new things and to make new things out of some of their favorites. I think you'll be surprised!

Melissa

No More Meat

Hey Everyone,

Since I wrote last, I have given up red meat and pork. The journey to becoming a "flexitarian"(which means I eat chicken and shellfish) has proven to be easier than I thought. 

Maybe it's easy because I love to cook so I'm able to control what I'm eating? Who knows!

Here are some quick recipes for some of the foods I've been eating lately:

Spinach, Tomato and Hummus Wrap:

Whole wheat wrap

Tomatos

Hummus (I like Trader Joe's brand)

Baby Spinach

Guacamole:

2 Avacados

1/4 cup onion

1 clove garlic

cherry tomatos

lemon/lime juice

Tofu Stir Fry:

Tofu

Baby spinach

Broccoli

Rice

Onions

Soy sauce or lemon juice

I encourage everyone to eat at least 3-4 meals without meat a week. You really do feel better physically but you also feel better knowing you have will power!