Barefoot and in the Kitchen...

....is how i spent a good part of the weekend. in an effort to live a healthy lifestyle, i've been moving back towards vegetarianism. i don't know if i'll make it all the way--i LOVE seafood-- but i could definitely do better. i got a bit 'happy' at the farmers' market recently and brought home zuchinni, yellow squash, leeks, various bell peppers, white mushrooms and portabello mushrooms with some sort of fantasmagorical-veggie-delight dish in mind. now, the problem with me getting excited about veggies is, i never quite use up what i buy. then i feel bad because of what has been wasted. so i came up with was pretty darn tasy and convenient way to get my veggies in and use them up too. i made a versatile veggie mix that's quick and easy.

first, i diced and seasoned the veggies with a lemon pepper marinade and sauteed them in olive oil.

then i tossed in some cooked, whole wheat pasta.

voila! top with gorgonzola cheese and enjoy.

its quick, easy, gourmet-ee, can be served hot or cold and is very filling. i only had one problem--i still had LOTS of veggies left. i had used left than half of each vegetable to make a dish that served 4 nicely. i could hear the veggies calling out to me...."don't waste us, pllllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaze don't waste us"

what's a girl to do? then it hit me(insert ding! here)

make a veggie base that i can adjust and mix with different things. season them and store the servings. now, i know i could cook them and freeze them, but the plan is th have the freshest veggies possible. so the rest of the veggies became this:
in a simple marinade of Ms.Dash, a pinch of kosher salt.

then it was divided up for different dishes adding things like:
seasoned and sauteed portabello mushrooms, and:

for the girlchild, lemon pepper marinated chicken

all of which goes nicely into:
whole wheat wraps, tossed with pasta, mixed greens, stir-fried and served with brown rice. adjust the mix to seasonal items or whatever you like. what's neat, is i can use the same veggies, but they never quite taste the same.