Kansas City with the Virtual Veggies

I just had one of the best weekends! In March, I joined Weight Watchers and came across an online community of vegetarians. Within this wonderful group, is a Virtual Vegetarian thread. Women, like me, who are on weight watchers and who are mostly vegetarian.

This weekend, 8 of us got together in Kansas City and all met for the first time in person. I am so amazed and impressed with these women. We all got along so well with no drama or competitiveness. Conversation came easily and it was like we had known each other for years (no doubt because we have been "talking" daily for months. Even me, who is generally in bed at 10 was up laughing and talking till 1 a.m.

On Friday night, we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant. We shared a number of delectable dishes and 2 pitchers of sangria. We ventured into Kansas City downtown on Saturday and ate lunch at Eden Alley. They had wonderful homemade bread. We had a variety of meals like pumpkin enchiladas, mushroom spinach loaf with marinara, and sweet potato croquettes. They had an amazing bread pudding and the most luscious pumpkin pie with orange whipped cream. According to TxGeek who called to encourage a cookbook, there may be one in the far future. We spent the afternoon on the Plaza.


Saturday night was so much fun. After a shopping trip to Wild Oats, we prepared (from the Moosewood Cookbooks):

Smokey White Bean Soup
Samosas with Tamerind Dipping Sauce http://www.molliekatzen.com/show/samosas.php
Walnut Feta Pate
Salad with garam masala toasted walnuts

Wondering1 brought us some of her famous soy banana "cream" pie. yummm. . . she also brought a dairy one because of Klo's allergy.



It was so good to be away and spend time with new people who are all on similar journeys. It has been a long time since I had this much fun for a whole weekend. I feel like probably a minute didn't go by that I didn't have a smile on my face.

Retreat Dinner Tuesday - Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers and Moroccan Chicken

Roasted Chicken with Moroccan spices

Marinate for 4-6 hours
6 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast in:
3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
9 tablespoons ground cumin
4 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
6 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pre-heat broil. Broil chicken in marinade until just cooked through, occasionally brushing with any remaining marinade, about 10 minutes per side Transfer chicken to platter.

Sprinkle with
¾ C parsley (I didn't do this)

Makes 18 servings.

Middle Eastern Tofu Stuffed Peppers
This is from the Moosewood Low-Fat Cookbook

Saute 3 minutes:
8 Tblsp. Canola or other Vegetable Oil
8 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups diced onions
1/4t cayenne
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Add, cover and cook 3 minutes:
6 cups peeled and diced carrots
dash of salt

Add and cook 2 minutes
4 cup diced tomatoes (I didn't do this)

Stir in and cook 2 minutes then cover and set aside 5 minutes:
6 cups tofu -45 ounces (Freeze tofu overnight, thaw all day, crumble)
¾ C soy sauce
4 Tblsp. chopped fresh dill (1 tsp. dried)
8 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 cup couscous, uncooked
1 cup hot water

Stir in:
¾ C currants or raisins

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Fill with ½ C filling:
16 large bell peppers, halved

Pour in bottom of glass baking dish:
8 cups tomato juice

Cover tightly, and bake for 45-50 minutes until the peppers are tender.
Serve Feta and chunky tomato sauce on side

Chunky Tomato Sauce
6 Cups

In a heavy, nonreactive pan, sauté 10 min
1C onions
6 cloves garlic
2t Olive Oil

Add:
56 oz Undrained Canned Tomatoes
Basil
Salt And Black Pepper