Happy New Year!!!

Okay, first I must apologize for the lack of posts over the past few days. After cooking big batches of beans and butter pecan tofu, I was stuck eating leftovers for several days. Then, I went out of town for New Year's Eve. But I'm back and in the kitchen!! I always, always, always eat traditional New Year's food on the first day of the year — black-eyed peas for good luck and cabbage for good fortune. I fear not eating these things will lead to a horrible year.

Several months ago, while perusing Veg Times, I came across a recipe for Arborio Rice and Savoy Cabbage soup. It sounded like a gourmet twist on a humble old favorite, cabbage soup. So I dog-eared the page to save for my New Year's Day meal.



Arborio rice, the rice used for making risotto, lends a certain creaminess to this light broth-y soup. And savoy cabbage is just really pretty! It's a very simple recipe: cabbage, rice, veggie broth, and olive oil.

Of course, no New Year's meal is complete without black-eyed peas, but since the cabbage soup was the star of the menu, I opted for canned peas rather than home-cooked. I opened a can of Glory Foods "Sensibly Seasoned" black-eyed peas and without adding any extra flavoring, these were the best damn black-eyed peas I've ever had!! Glory Foods usually adds meat flavoring, but the "Sensibly Seasoned" line is low-fat, so they used smoke flavoring and some veggie seasonings.



Finally, I prepared pumpernickel garlic bread to dip into my soup. The meal was totally refreshing and light enough to start the year off right.

Tomorrow, I will begin my juice fast. It's a three week detox diet that begins with one day of drinking nothing but vegetable juices (made in a juicer, not like V8). The second week, you drink juices for two days in a row. And the final week, you drink juice for three days in a row. I'm excited, but a little nervous about getting hungry. I'll post juice pics tomorrow and let you know how it's going. Wish me luck!!!