Veggie Lovers Soup

A couple days ago, I went to Whole Foods without a shopping list.  I don't consider myself a very organized person - I'm totally that person who only picks up clothes off the floor when guests are visiting - but I'm truly committed to planning out my meals for the week and buying only what is needed.  This is necessary for managing my time but also prevents me from buying gourmet cheeses, desserts, and other temptations at Whole Foods.

Anyway, I went a little crazy in the produce section and ended up with a ton of veggies.  Because this was unplanned, I had that "oh sh*t" buyer's remorse moment when I had no idea how I'd consume so many of them.  Luckily I had a few staple items in the kitchen, such as vegetable broth and canned tomatoes, and realized that I could make a pretty dynamite soup without having to make another (unplanned) trip to the store.

The other cool thing is I've made enough soups to not have to follow a recipe this time around...ahhh...progress.

Just a small portion of what I was working with...

Can't forget these guys!

Roasted Chickpea Stew

Okay.  This roasted chickpea stew is amazing and easily falls within the top three dishes I've ever made (it's closely ranked the beef bourguignon and a Moroccan stew).  I stumbled upon the original recipe on the Whole Foods website while searching for a use for leftover ginger root.

According to the original recipe, the dish has Ethiopian roots which is a type of food I've never experimented with.  It's heavy in spice and requires roasting the chickpeas prior to making the stew.  This is an absolute necessary step as the roasting intensifies the otherwise bland chickpeas.

No Meat Monday: Chickpea Burgers with Baked Potato and Veggie Crisps

No Meat Monday is a catchy little phrase I first saw at Whole Foods and soon learned that it's an ongoing international campaign. I decided to embrace this act - as well as removing meat from the most (but not all) of my meals - for health and environmental concerns (or, just being totally freaked out after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma). I'll admit that changing my diet is a challenge. Dinner used to be a simple task...simply cook meat, carbs, and veggies, and you'd be good to go. Nowadays, dinner takes research and creativity to ensure a healthy, flavorful, and most of all filling, meal.

I made chickpea burgers with baked potato and veggie crisps. The meal met all of my meatless requirements...check it out!