Vegetarian Week Day 1: Let’s do this!

There’s nothing wrong with admitting that I love cheeseburgers – they may very well be my favorite food on the planet. Unfortunately, biology and human anatomy have played a cruel twist of fate on us cheeseburger lovers, as they can be rather poor for you if you eat them continually. Last week at GenCon (the best 4 days in gaming!), I decided that since I was really only eating one meal a day, that it was alright for me to eat a cheeseburgers. I had a cheeseburger with peanut butter, pepper jack and jalapeños that was absolutely out of this world (photo credit to SpecialKRB, I didn’t think to take a picture), and I had a cheeseburger with onion rings and barbecue sauce that was rather tasty.  I ate cheeseburgers pretty much every day, which is a dietary excess I have not indulged in for quite some time.

Stephanie (making better choices than me, but still not eating as well as normal) suggested that we take a week to go vegetarian, with the goal being to get ourselves back into a routine of eating healthily, as well as to take advantage of all the delicious foods from our local farmers markets.  It is also a challenge for me, since I’m still not 100% on all vegetables, but I have made tremendous strides since I was younger and I wouldn’t touch a vegetable at all.

I’m hoping to update a bit this week chronicling what I’m doing with this and how it’s going. This vegetarian thing is not going to be a permanent thing (I like beef and pork waaaaay too much) but it’ll allow me to add some more vegetarian recipes to my repertoire. Any suggestions you, my faithful readers, would care to add regarding meal ideas (like, perhaps, a curry that doesn’t use curry powder per se?) I’d be most appreciative.

Penne with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes and Arugula
Adapted from Cooking Light – Serves 4

1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
8 oz penne (I use Barilla Plus)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic, divided
8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp sugar
.75 tsp kosher salt
.25 tsp herbes de Provence (substitute any Italian herb blend)
.25 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula
grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Preheat broiler. Cut peppers in half lengthwise, discarding seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin-side up, on foil-lined baking sheet. Flatten halves with hand, broil 15 minutes until skins are blackened. Place in paper bag, seal and let stand 10 minutes. Peel and cut into strips.

Cook pasta and drain well. Heat 1 tsp oil in nonstick pan over medium-high. Add .25 tsp garlic, cook 30 seconds, then add peppers & tomatoes, cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Combine .75 tsp garlic, vinegar, 2 tbsp oil, sugar, salt, herbs and pepper in a small bowl. Add pasta & oil mixture to bell peppers in pan, toss well to coat. Cool slightly, then stir in arugula. Top each serving with cheese.