Sunday, June 21, 2009

Visiting Family in Blairstown and Princeton Junction, NJ

My sister from Texas and I are meeting up next weekend in NJ to celebrate one of my nieces getting married and also to spend some quality time with our Dad and rest of scattered family members. I have 6 siblings which included one set of twins and one set of triplets. I promised my sister in law who is putting us up that I would cook a vegan dinner next Friday night for a group maybe as large as 16 - 20. I often feel like a vegan chef or caterer when I cook for a group but it is rewarding. The menu will consist of Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna, a big salad, bread, dipping sauce and Zucchini Brownies for desert. The vegan recipes are easy to come by but I might have a challenge with the ingredients. I'm an organic snob and may have to settle for the conventional produce, regular sauces and bring tofu, nutri yeast, cocoa and seasonings with me. The lasagna recipe comes from Susan at her http://www.fatfreevegan.com website and she calls it her "Favorite Lasagna" and now it is my favorite for these kinds of occasions or a potluck. The zucchini brownies come from allrecipes.com. They aren't the healthiest but have a lot less fat and oil than some recipes. The trick to these brownies is to read the recipe and follow it exactly.

Update on the garden: We had so much rain in May that my Cucumber leaves got white powdery spots on them. I harvested 2 large ones so far but have to stop the fungus before it kills the plant. I just tried a solution that included baking soda and dish soap. I'm now down to two tomato plants that also look like they had to much to drink.

I'll post some pictures of the NJ dinner and my vegetable garden in about a week..

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