Treat Myself

Today is Valentine's Day, as you may know. A time to receive cards, gifts, chocolates, and the like. So far, I've received: two packages of chocolates, a Charlie Brown Valentine from one of my preteens (so awesome), and I won a peppermint-themed Valentine's gift basket with spa essentials. Too deadly, as a friend would say. I've also spent it with a couple of great tea/coffee dates with friends. I saw that a local pub is having a Valentine's pasta night, but since I'm busy tonight (with worship band practice), I decided to make myself pasta. And it's fantastic. (In my opinion). So because today is supposed to be about giving - I'll share my "recipe" with you.

I'm pretty loose with what I put in pasta sauce. It depends on what I have in stock, and what I feel like having. Today it worked out quite well. Here's what I did:

Sautéed up an onion and celery in a splash of olive oil. Took my handy-dandy Watkins garlic peppercorn blend and ground a healthy dash of that onto everything. (It has oregano and sea salt as well). Threw in a dried bay leaf and a tsp more of garlic powder. Added a dash of Knorr (I think) Buffalo sauce - I like spice - and a dash of Lea & Perrins worcester. Added a generous helping of sundried tomatoes. (All while sautéing). Threw in a half-pound of extra-lean ground beef, stirred it up nice n good. Sprinkled a satisfying amount of Watkins cinnamon in. Ground some more sea salt, and multi-coloured peppercorn in. Added a can of italian-spiced stewed tomatoes, and a can of earthpure organic tomato sauce. Added broccoli and cauliflower (add them last so that they're not soggy). Simmered it all while the bowtie pasta was cooking!

That's it, ladies n gentlemen! It would have been even better with a sprinkle of cheese, possibly feta, but I was out.

I definitely felt loved as I was enjoying my home-cooked pasta. Happy Valentines!

Discovery #2...and up

My foray into the world of kale chips, roasted chick peas, and quinoa has brought about some interesting discoveries. More than just how awesome kale chips are. I'll share:

1. The more veggies you eat, the more veggies you have to eat.
2. Asparagus makes you pee more. It also makes your pee smell weird. (I'm not the only one. Trust me.)
3. Eating more vegetables enhances your sense of smell. Or at least, it allows me to distinguish between smells better now that my olfactory senses are not clogged with fat and meat.
4. Sesame oil makes everything better. It also makes your clothes stink.
5. Bloating after eating does not mean you're full. It means you've been eating unhealthy food all your life.
6. More veggies, more tea, and no coffee makes my skin nice. Ahhh, nice skin.
7. I really can live without coffee.
8. Any vegetable can taste good, provided you use enough sauce.
9. Any vegetable can taste good, once you get rid of the sauce.
10. Sharing tasty veggies introduces others to the wonders of yummy veggies. Veggies = not scary.

Here's a yummy veggie recipe à la www.vegansociety.com. Check it out.