How the west was wonderful

Due to a vast amount of leftovers I incurred last week, I did not cook a new dish. However, this weekend I ventured to Western Mass to visit two of my most favorite ladies, Miss Nicole Zarba and Connell Heady. Connell and Nicole are pescatarians and vegetarians, respectively, so I knew I was signing myself up for a colon-clensing weekend. 

The view outside Connell and Nicole's kitchen window

The meal we made is like most meals made in the Zarba/Heady household (apartmenthold, rather), but was new to me. I have yet to experiment with too many raw veggies, although I am a lover of most. Additionally, I have only experimented with soy protein in the form of tofu and veggie burgers. Concocting a veggie medley of  french-cut green beans, summer squash, pepper strips, and turnips, the final ingredient (aside from spices) was a textured vegetable protein, which is the base for veggie burgers. If you're curious, the brand is Gimme Lean by Light Life, based in Turner's Falls, Mass. For flavor, Nicole added some red pepper, cayanne pepper, original Mrs. Dash, and pre-conditioned garlic. We also stopped at one of the many farmstands to pick up organic blueberries and corn. After a quick googling escapade, we verified our predictions? about how to boil corn on the cob from the source howtocookcornonthecob.com. Some basmati (brown) rice to boot and we had ourselves a delicious, nutritious dinner. 



The final product was so colorful! Connell and Nicole said most of their dinners are similar to what we prepared. Someday I hope to make daily dinners as nutritious and delicious as theirs! Considering my current and supposed future schedule, I may be a housewife by then.

For breakfast, Nicole cooked eggs and yams, coupled with watermelon and blueberries. Better than Route 9 Diner food! 




We also went to Tanglewood and got our much-needed serving of classical orchestral music. Overture to the School for Scandal mmmmmmm

On the way there, we drove by a diner I used to frequent with my summer camp counselor friends on our days off. Nostalgia to the max. Good times, summers '08 and '09, miss you all dearly.