Our Veggie Tale

As many of you know, my husband is a fantastic cook and blogs about all the yummy things he makes for us.   He recently decided to go Vegetarian for his health and in his typical way, he's taking us with him.

Back in June he started reading books by chef Jamie Oliver.  He found some really great recipes  including one for meatballs and pasta, which was awesome. 

The NoOb!

We both looked through the book and found a recipe for homemade pasta.  We thought we'd give it a try.   I helped a bit, mostly taking photos.  He was so excited about the fresh pasta that he invited his parents for dinner.

So, here's the scene:  his Dad is sitting at the dining room table, his mom is standing at the kitchen island helping him cut the pasta and I was taking photos.

NoOb rolling out pasta

cutting pasta with a handy pizza cutter!

lovely pasta, though a bit too thick

Right after he cut the pasta, The NoOb began getting some raw chicken ready for tenderizing.  Pretty soon we hear the tell-tale whack! whack! whack! of the chicken taking a beating.  Dinner is proceeding nicely.

I scooped up the pasta to drop it into the pot of boiling water and I noticed flecks of something white all over the side of the pot. My eyes darted to the section of the counter adjacent to the stove where the chicken whacking was taking place.  It was then that I saw it.  Uncovered raw chicken being whacked with a mallet. UNCOVERED. RAW. CHICKEN.

This is where my freak flag comes out and I wave it around. I got a thing about raw chicken.  By thing I mean OCD. By OCD I mean CDO where the letters are in the proper order, as they should be.  I drop the pasta into the pot while my eyes take in the mayhem.  Raw chicken bits EVERYWHERE. On the cabinets, the fridge, the stove, two open pots on the stove, the NoOb himself, and god help us all, ME.

This was not a typical NoOb move. I think having his parents over and me taking photos threw off his Chi and he forgot about covering the chicken.  After it was determined that it was not easier to just move, I decided it was time to cut it out with the chicken already and just eat vegetables.The NoOb cleaned the entire kitchen, though I still shudder to think there may be a salmonella bacteria just waiting to jump on me as I open the silverware drawer.

This was how that meal looked in the end. I couldn't eat a single bite.

Chicken Parmesan

Only a few short months before, I showed my daughter this little video...





... and managed to put the kibosh on all fast food/processed chicken in her diet. Yay! Because seriously, it's gross. And if you watched the video, sad that the kids would still eat them! But I digress.

We are now officially vegetarian and while I'm hanging on to things like the occasional egg and maybe a bit of yogurt, the NoOb is going vegan. It works really well for his health condition (IBS) and it keeps him feeling good.

It does present a challenge where our daughter is concerned, especially with lunches for school. I've been researching Bento lunch boxes and vegetarian lunches for kids so we make sure she gets the proper nutrition.

Part of the research the NoOb did was to watch a show called Food Matters, in which he learned all the horrible awful things that go into processed food and why humans shouldn't eat animal products.  Most of it makes sense, so I'm willing to swim in his pond for a bit to see what happens.  Our daughter is sad about not having bacon, but hell, who isn't.

If you're a vegetarian or vegan and have recipes or info you'd like to share, please do!