Tuesdays

One of the sad things about the job, or working in any restaurant I suppose, is that I tend to eat a lot of the same thing. Being a vegetarian, my options are kind of limited and so I eat the same thing every. single. day. On top of that my "meals" are usually eaten in five minutes or less while perched on top of the safe or while standing. Now, for a girl that loves food as much as I do this can be a bit of a downer.

But have no fear! I have come up with a solution and it is called "Tuesday". Now that I have settled into a set schedule at work I generally have Tuesdays off and they have become my day to try new recipes. This is my once a week go all out cooking day and I try to make at least one new recipe every Tuesday. It is wonderful and something I look forward to every week. Here are some of the new recipes I have tried out over the past string of Tuesdays:

Today: This Pita bread recipe was the newbie for the week and I paired it with some home made hummus and amazing butternut squash soup recipes that I love and trust. Both of them came from The Vegetarian Cook's Bible that I got from my aunt Nancy last year and adore. The pita didn't really puff right so there was no pocket in the middle but that didn't stop me from eating two dipped in the hummus while I waited for the soup to finish. I am so full right now.

Last week: The peanut butter hot chocolate turned out to be a mixed bag. I liked it idea but it was super rich even though I skipped the cream the recipe called for and I couldn't finish sized batch I made for myself.

Two weeks ago: Oh man, the honey oatmeal bread I made two weeks ago was a winner. I messed up some of the ingredients and neglected the loaf while I was rising but it still turned out. It was so good that it was gone by Thursday morning...

Three weeks ago: Corn pudding also a winner. I made a full batch and it took me a while to get through it myself but it was good until the last bite.

Four weeks ago: A warm beet and apple salad from the Vegetarian Cook's Bible to feature my purchase at the last farmers market of the year. Warm beets and apples are a surprising combination but it worked though I am not sure if I would make this again.

Five weeks ago: I tried to make my own yogurt and it failed. As a bit of a back story, I had to take a sanitation class for work and learned all about food borne illnesses and all the bad things that can happen if you don't properly refrigerate food. Then I tried to make a recipe that required keeping milk unrefrigerated for eight hours and I freaked out and decided that I wasn't going to eat the yogurt. Maybe I will try again someday but it looked funny and I think I made the right decision to just be safe and through it out.

I'm not sure what I am going to make next week, it will probably depend on what we have in the fridge by then, but I am already looking forward to it.

PS. Since November is over I am proud to report that I finished my second "novel" and submitted it with an hour to spare with a totally of 52,186 words. Done for another year!