Bernie Michalik's posterous site

I have become attracted to eating more like a vegetarian. I attribute this
to Mark Bittman: his meatfree recipes are tasty and simple and they have me
wanting to eat more vegetables and rice and lentils and beans. I still love
meat: there is bacon in that pan above, and all those veggies are going to
eventually go in an omelet and a salad to accompany a steak (two different
meals) but I am looking to eat more and more vegetables.

Two of the reasons are costs and health. But the simplest of them is that
vegetables taste good. Like anything, it's how you prepare it.

One thing I have found is that it is easier to eat more vegetables if you
buy more. Having three types of greens, three types of onions, a variety of
root vegetables, tomatoes, soft veg like mushrooms as well as garlic and
potatoes gives you plenty of options. (Lots of those store well.) Not being
a strict vegetarian gives me more options still: roasted potatoes are
yummy, but thinly roasted potatoes covered in gruyere and cream makes for a
sublime gratin.

I am fortunate to have a good greengrocer nearby that has great deals on
stuff. Two peppers for a dollar might not last a week, but over two nights
can be used in a salad and a stirfry and will be fresh and delicious and
not bad or anywhere near inedible. Same with zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes
and other root veggies. Some things demand freshness; for others, you can
make a great soup or stirfry or roasted gratin with the deal of the day.

It also helps to have recipes to transform the vegetables. But a few simple
soups and salads and roasted vegetable recipes can be used to make hundreds
of different dishes. It's the vegetables that bring the variety more than
the preparation, though that helps too. But don't be put off because your
cooking skills are limited.

That brings me to the recipe I guarantee you will love. For the recipe
about, a took a third of a package of bacon, diced, and then cooked it over
medium until it was cooked but not crisp. Then I filled the pan with red
onion, mushrooms, yellow pepper and cooked them until soft and shiny. I
then left about half a cup or so in the pan and took out the rest for
tomorrow mornings scrambled eggs or omelet or fritatta. To what was left in
the pan, I added some olive oil to make around 3 tbsp. I warmed it up then
took it off the heat and then added 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. (Don't add
the vinegar to a cooking pan: the smell is strong.) You can also use wine
or fruit or cider vinegar. Mix it around. You could even add a dash of
mustard or sugar. Do it to taste. Then take a few handful of salad greens
and toss the vegetables/vinegrette over the greens and dress them. It makes
a delicious salad. Add some roasted nuts and some dried fruit diced or some
grated or shredded cheese and you have a warm salad masterpiece.

If you want to skip the bacon, just cook the veg in olive oil and top it up
as before. Feel free to experiment. For example, use only a mixture of
mushrooms, or a mixture of eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini. Replace the
vinegar with lime juice, add some cumin and cilantro to taste, and throw
some avacado into your salad. You could also replace the vinegar with lemon
juice and oregano and add some diced cucumber, tomatoes and feta and olives
to the salad to make a warm greek salad. Use tarragon, lemon juice and
after you toss the salad, melt some brie on small toasts and layer on top.
Really, you can do anything with this recipe.

We all should eat more vegetables. We should do it because we love to.
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