I made Miriam’s “Pseudo-Indian Dinner” for dinner the other night. It was my first time cooking with or eating Swiss Chard and I have to say, I really like it! :)

This is Miriam’s recipe, but I added in amounts that I used of everything because I’m anal like that ;) and it will help me to make it again the next time.

Pseudo-Indian Dinner

3 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion
2 C water
1 large potato chopped
1 can garbanzo beans
2 large spoons of tomato paste
1/2 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 t tumeric
2 t curry powder
3 shakes red pepper flakes
1 bunch freshly chopped red swiss chard

Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil.
Add water, potato, garbanzo beans, spices and tomato paste.
Once potatoes are softened, stir in the chard. Allow chard to cook until softened.

Serve over quinoa (Miriam’s idea) or brown rice (my idea) or basmati rice (thought that would be tasty for future reference). Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Thanks for the delicious recipe, Miriam! :)

And now for the scrumptious dessert – Chocolate-covered peanut butter balls!

Running2Ks got this from the book “Sinfully Vegan” and it can be a vegan recipe if you use vegan chocolate chips. Since we aren’t vegan though, I just used regular chocolate chips.

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Balls

- 1 cup peanut butter (I used natural, organic peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Approximately 3/4th of a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips (can use vegan chocolate chips to make the recipe vegan-friendly)
Blend the peanut butter, pumpkin and powdered sugar in a food processor (or mix well in a bowl). Form into small balls and place on wax paper; freeze 30 minutes or until hard.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or on the stove.
Using a wooden toothpick, dip the frozen balls into the melted chocolate. Place back onto the wax paper and put back into the freezer until chocolate has hardened.
Enjoy!

I took some of these with me to our AP group’s moms’ night out get-together last night and they were a big, big hit. :) Jody loves them too and was bummed I didn’t bring any home. I told him there were 4 leftover, but I left them with the hostess because I knew if they came into the car with me, I’d eat them all on the drive home. ;) They are really good. Thanks for sharing the recipe, R2Ks!

Stumble it!

I’m very pleased that we’ve been eating vegetarian meals around here for the past week without a problem. I’ve found several new recipes to try and have been enjoying eating new, delicious foods. (Will post some recipes I’ve tried recently soon.)

The problem is, Ava is not as excited about all of mommy’s new recipes as mommy is. ;)

I don’t think being vegetarian is bothering her – the only meat she was fond of in the past anyway was fish. The problem is, I think, the dishes I am making are too “exotic,” for lack of a better word, for her.

Here I am all excited that I’m making these tasty and very nutritious meals, but she doesn’t want anything to do with them. (Although she does like hummus and that’s something.) So I’m banging my head on the wall.

I don’t want to become a short-order cook. I’d like her to eat what the rest of the family eats. However, I do realize some foods might just be too spicy for her (even though I don’t get too crazy with the spices because I’m a wimp myself when it comes to spicy foods).

So I guess I’m now on the lookout for vegetarian recipes that are more kid-friendly so that she can enjoy our meals too.

Part of this might be due to the fact that many toddlers get picky about their eating habits regardless of if they are carnivorous or not. It’s hard to say. Even before this began, she would have her days of not wanting to eat much of anything.

I have made some Morningstar Farms® Chik’n Nuggets for her and she liked those, but with drinking some soy milk (also rice milk) and having tofu and tempeh in meals, I start to worry about how much soy is too much. I’ve also made her organic mac and cheese with pumpkin mixed in. She does ok with that. Her favorite food – that she would eat any time of the day or night if granted permission – is cheese (string cheese, slices of cheese, whatever) but mama is trying to cut back a bit on that.

I got the book “Raising Vegetarian Children : A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony” in the mail today and need to give it a look. I think there are supposed to be recipes in there and I’m sure there will be other information to calm me a bit.

I’m probably worrying unneccessarily. I’ve been known to do this in the past when she didn’t want to eat. It seems as soon as I vent about it somewhere, she gets back to normal, so here’s hoping that’s the case now as well. ;)

Thanks for listening. And if you have any links to kid-friendly veggie recipes, I’d love them. :)

Stumble it!