Every Monday, I write about food. I didn’t plan it that way, but first we started getting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery of fresh organic produce back in May, and I started taking photos and telling you about what we got. Then, I signed up for Meatless Mondays in June and I’m so supportive of their cause I started writing about it. And I got such good feedback on the meatless recipes I posted, I decided to make it a regular feature by using reader’s suggestions.
There are SO MANY delicious vegetarian recipes these days that it gets easier and easier to go meatless. We go meatless several times a week in our house. There are just so many things we love to eat that don’t include meat.
If you haven’t heard of Meatless Mondays, click here to read all about it. It’s a nonprofit initiative that aims to encourage people to go meatless on Mondays, for their health and the health of the planet. If you go to their site and pledge to go meatless, they’ll send you a weekly email that’s filled with delicious recipes, along with news in the world of food. I already have a backlog of recipes I can’t wait to try, and several have quickly become staples.
Meatless Mondays has gotten a lot of press lately because the Baltimore school system was inspired to go meatless on Mondays and the news covered it. Not everyone thinks that teaching children to eat less meat is a good thing, some people will PROTECT THEIR RIGHT TO EAT STEAK at all costs. Click here to see Glenn Beck’s take on the subject, which is either insane, farfetched, unhinged, wrongheaded, bizarrely self-centered, hilarious, or all of the above. Sorry to offend any GB fans, but I have a hard time believing anyone who watches him for anything more than entertainment value would be reading my blog. It’s unclear who’s trying to take his steak away: Al Gore? Paul McCartney? Obama?
Now for some recipes:
Ellen from Within My Means shares this recipe for Squash Casserole, which looks easy and doesn’t use a lot of ingredients. One thing it does use is Cream of Mushroom soup, so if you don’t like the canned version, I thought I’d share this recipe from Alea at Premeditated Leftovers for a homemade version (which has got to be healthier!)
This easy-sounding recipe for Italian Spinach Pie comes from Reader’s Digest. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will as soon as I get spinach and leeks in the same CSA delivery. According to RD, you should eat plenty of spinach to keep your heart in tip-top shape with vitamins A and C and folate. Also, when I make it I’ll add a pinch of nutmeg which is delicious in any spinach recipe.
And one of my old standbys: Arugula/mushroom salad. I think this recipe was on the back of a bag of arugula at Trader Joe’s and I made it and loved it. Now I make it all the time, sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner as a side, or as a main dish if I’m really feeling starved for greens. Saute garlic and mushrooms or a shallot and mushrooms in olive oil, and pour it over the arugula. It should wilt the greens a bit. Add salt, toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, and a little crumbled feta or goat cheese.
What do you think about going meatless? To me, it’s a win/win/win: healthy, green, and frugal. I love that. Please share your favorite meatless meals in the Comments section, and I’ll use them in the next Meatless Mondays post.
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