Meatless Monday...Farmer's Market Edition

I visited the Roanoke City Farmer's Market this weekend for the first time all summer (yes, I know I'm awful, and I really do love the place, but I despise having to pay to park so I do visit other Markets that don't have that drawback, but Roanoke's was the first and is the best, no argument).

I brought back a few things. I'm trying really hard this year to remember that it is just me, and I don't have much freezer space or time to put by. Still I tend to overbuy anyway...without applying the brakes? I'd have bags and bags of stuff and be overwhelmed (like last year with the CSA) and I'm trying hard to keep that in mind:
I picked up all three sisters, tho only two are here. My favorite October beans (or "shellies" as my Mom called them) cooked up nicely with a teaspoon or so of olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, a touch of salt and about a tablespoon of dried rosemary in the cooking water. I adore them and was promised the farmer who had these would have many many more all the rest of the summer - I might have to put some of these by, as it's just my favorite bean in the world (I take after Mom in a lot of ways, but when I eat these, I remember the simple delight she had in them and it's a lovely memory!). There were two ears of yellow/white corn, too, and the yellow squash was fabulous.

This is the primary reason I love the Roanoke City Market - because I can stop at On the Rise bakery for their amazing Rosemary Sourdough bread.

But then, as I wandered thru the marketplace, I suddenly heard my name, and lo and behold there was friend Sandra, who helps a friend of her's at his farmstand booth every weekend. Now I have another reason to go down there. What amazing produce!

Sandra immediately told me I had to try one of these:


Saturday and Sunday I had this for lunch, making it a purely meatless weekend (breakfast is always meat-free):
The peaches made my mid-afternoon snack extra special. I'm not a huge fan of peaches, except when they're fresh, in season, and eaten out of hand. This is a good year for peaches, apparently!

And the Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato? OMG. No joke, it's amazing. As soon as I took my first bite, I phoned Sandra and asked her to pick up a couple more of the treasures for this week. I added just a touch of fat-free mayo to the sourdough bread and tomato...I think I'll be stocking up on them each week as long as they last. Hmm...wonder if I can grow two or three of these plants next summer on the front stoop? (Those of you who've been here awhile know perfectly well that it will be a pitiful attempt. I just don't get enough sun...better to plan on every Saturday morning from July into September being at Sandra's friend's booth, right?)

Oh...And Sandra dropped off some of her fresh, home-grown basil on Sunday afternoon, and I made pesto, and added a few leaves and some mozzarella to the sandwich - it was equally amazing...

It's Meatless Monday AGAIN!

I was thinking salad, I was craving Mexican. Taco salad? Vegan style? Well...

I ended up tossing together what I had (wish I'd had a lime or lime juice, but I didn't) and came up with this:

I tossed in:
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained (and I patted them dry with a towel, too)
1 ear of yellow corn cooked and removed from the cob
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/3 of a Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno (frozen from my CSA share last year), seeded and chopped

I seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin (probably 1 tbsp or more), a touch of hot sauce, and lemon juice and olive oil - I can't give you actual amounts, b/c (1) I didn't measure, and (2) I think probably you'll want to season to your own preference.

(I like mine spicey!)

And then I carefully mixed it all up (those black beans tend to mush if you're too forceful!). I tossed broken up multigrain Tostitos chips and romaine in a bowl and added the mixture on top.

Next time? I think I'll make up a bit of salsa and fat-free ranch dressing for a topper and add in some (non-vegan) sharp cheddar shreds.

Meatless Mondays - Veggies

I'm not sure you can tell what's on the plate (well, except that obviously there's an ear of corn!

My meatless meal tonight was veggies: On the right, the thing that's probably not obvious at all is a roasted white patty pan squash. Then there's the corn, and of course a garlic baguette with seasoned olive oil. I had nectarine for dessert.

So what is it with me? I seem to put many many white, yellow, pale, blah, beige sorts of foods on my plate. Or at least it seems to me as if there's a lot of it. (On the rare days I eat anything animal based (other than dairy - oh! There's that white stuff again) I eat chicken. White.Meat.

Hmm...I do eat carrots and winter squash, sweet potatoes (hmm...yellow, orange)

And tomatoes (red).

But Mom always taught me to have something green on my plate.

Oh well. In past weeks? It's been some sort of salad, so I guess it's okay that tonight's meal is blah, ho-hum, beige...right?

(oh, that black stuff? I'm totally enamoured of freshly ground pepper...)

Meatless Monday - Dinner Out!

So it's Mealess Monday again, and I'm expecting company. Dinner will be in a restaurant today, so will either be Buddhist Delight at a local Chinese place, or perhaps salad bar and baked potato at a local chain restaurant.

Sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow, you know?

Oh...and breakfast is a "fast food" sandwich I make myself:
Thomas' high fiber English Muffin
1/4 c Egg Beaters w/ shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Morningstar Farms veggie-sausage patty

It's really good, and only 5 points on Weight Watchers. Holds me over for a long morning, as well.
Happy 4th of July holiday weekend, if you're still enjoying a day off today!

Another Meatless Monday Salad Day...

I visited a newly forming farmers Market last week and was pleased to see the people in attendance, the vendors being patronized, and the quality of the food. I purchased beets, Swiss Chard, and a summer squash.
When I got home, I immediately put the beets in to roast with rosemary and olive oil, and then tossed the chard into boiling water for that night's dinner. The beets I knew would take a lot longer, so when they were done (and forgotten for a few hours in the cooling oven!) I just put them in the fridge for the future.

So for Meatless Monday, I was able to pull them out, chop them into a mixed mesclun green salad, add in a tablespoon or so of feta cheese and a couple of tablespoons of chopped walnuts. A quick vinagrette later (did you realize you can get the last vestiges of mustard out of a container by adding a bit of vinegar (balsamic or white - choose whatever) and shaking it into the container? The mustard mixture forms a base for vinegrette that's got some substance to it - that is, as long as you don't use that yellow stuff! I added in some canola oil (the flavor of the mustard would overpower olive oil) and then some rosemary to continue the flavor I'd already used with the beets.

It was a delightful salad! With our weekend temperatures posting close to 102, a cool salad keeps me from heating up the kitchen and that agrees with me completely! Someone at work (who doesn't get - or agree with - the warming of the globe or the level of commitment it takes to be an evironmentalist) asked why my upstairs was hotter than down, "don't you have air conditioning?"

Yup...I do. I also push it way up when I'm not home, and it's pretty high (77) when I'm there.

So I don't make the heat pump work harder to cool the house by heating up the kitchen (well, not often anyway...)

I promise I bought this baked item! A lovely mini-loaf of banana bread I picked up at the farmer's market.

I didn't save any. It was good.

Yoga Night and Meatless Monday!

I have no photo yet for Meatless Monday - I'm making my own stuffed portabella mushroom cap after yoga tonight, tho' so I'll post a photo (if I don't inhale it, first). (I'm planning on sauteeing red bell pepper, olive oil, leeks and Italian seasoning, stuffing the cap, and then tossing feta on top to broil...hope it turns out as well as I think it will!)

In the meantime - because I'm going straight from work to pick up my 92 year old friend to go to yoga class together - I made sure to have a snack that will keep me going till after class tonight: Kefir. I'm not in anyway affiliated with that site, but I love their low-fat version - in strawberry, tonight. I once picked up a 1 cup bottle of it at the co-op and have saved the bottle, dutifully refilling it from my much larger one for ease in carrying to work (I know, I should reuse a small glass jar and recycle the plastic, and I will, promise, as soon as I empty one!). A cup is only 3 points and with the extra calcium, my bones are really benefitting, too.

edited to add photo and comments!
Here it is...my own version of the quickie portabellas I've been picking up at the grocery store for "fast food"

It turned out well, but yes, it does take longer to fix - I did everything I said above, except that I used orange peppers (2 slices, chopped) about 1 tablespoon of chopped leeks (from the CSA share last fall that I froze), a large garlic clove, chopped (also from the CSA last fall), and oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Then about 2 tablespoons of feta - and I broiled it for probably 8 minutes in my toaster oven.

That's summer squash from the Farmer's market, and a serving (I slice those slices thinly to go farther!) of artisan olive bread with olive dipping oil (Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning flavors it). Dessert was fruit, but I ate a peach out of hand (I know it's not local, but oh it was good) with a few blueberries...and didn't get a photo of that.

A great Meatless Monday!