Low-Fat Vegetarian Fare

A plug for my all time favorite cookbook, "Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites." I don't use cookbooks often, preferring to experiment with the recipe or use the internet to find what I'm looking for. My theory of cooking tends to follow that of Smitten Kitchen's - I rarely make the same dish twice. It does seem a waste of perfectly good recipes, but I always want to try something new. The staple items like bread, applesauce and yoghurt are the exceptions.

However, some of the fare in the Moosewood cookbook is so good that I simply have to repeat it, especially as side dishes. I've found with most vegetarian cookbooks/websites, they anticipate that their readers are vegetarians who are skipping the fat/calories found in meat. The recipes are then loaded with other forms of fat, from avocados to feta cheese. Amazing dishes, but they really must be used as the main course, otherwise your caloric intake approaches 500 for the meal.

The Low-Fat cookbook offers all sorts of, duh, lower fat options - perfect side dishes or lunches or diet fare. Whenever I'm pulling together a large meal with several sides or a covered dish for a church function, I turn to the Moosewood cookbook. And sometimes it comes in handy when I'm scrambling for something to do with an empty fridge and scarce pantry - enter the Hominy and Black Bean Frittata. So good that Tim  went back for seconds. As you can see, I was out of black beans, so I substituted kidney beans. No harm done. It feels like plagiarism to copy the recipe, so I encourage you to buy the cookbook. 

Our first "real" meal

Today marked a big milestone in the Ellis house - Gwennan’s first non-milk meal.

I knew what was coming when my little girl’s eyes doubled as I lifted the lid off the crock pot. Cumin, cinnamon, apricots, chicken - she realized that she’s missing out with her single-item menu. Her early interest made sense coming from a mom who considers food one of her favorite art media.

Introductions needed to be made soon between Gwennan and the world of vegetables. She has her first avocado-stained bib. Why avocado? That’s a reasonable question.

For the full case, check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com. My brief version is this: if you could only eat one food to sustain you, breast milk makes sense because it has all the nutrients and vitamins you need with plenty of protein. If you are only surviving on two types of food, I’d still keep breast milk as number one, but it makes sense to have something nutritious and protein-packed as your number two food as well. Enter the avocado.

At any rate, Gwennan literally wrestled the spoon from Daddy’s hand to eat more. She is still licking her chin and hands thirty minutes later. Avocado is a big hit.

Everyone told me before she was born that “I would just know.” I figured it must be true as millions of women throughout history and around the world become moms without so much as a Lamaze class, and they do a fabulous job. Still, I really didn’t know what they were talking about.

Then Gwennan came along. Miraculously, I know what she wants when she cries. All the frustrated years of babysitting, staring at a screaming baby thinking, “if you only had words, intelligible words.” Now I understand that moms really don’t need them, at least not at first. Later when your teenager just wants to know you respect him, you’d like more than a dissatisfied grunt - words would be nice. But right now, her eyes widening when she smells dinner is all she needs to let me know that she is ready for big girl food.