Weather and Delicious Italian Dinners

Last Sunday was Oregon's official start of winter, even though it doesn't really start until the 21st. We've been having snow, snow/rain, and just yukky winter weather all week. We are quite sick of it, b/c not only can we not drive in it (our back tires are just skidding and we don't have enough traction) but we are badly in need of groceries and in need of getting our flat tire fixed!

So enough about our frustrations-

How about enjoyable meals to make you all warm and delightful inside?

We made Veganomicon's Meatball Bean Balls, but instead of using kidney beans, we used garbanzo beans. Of course we made some more changes, but they turned out delicious! (We used some wheat germ in place of some bread crumbs, we used less thyme, & we added nutritional yeast)So addicting to pop a ball in your mouth! We served them with spiral pasta and the best spaghetti sauce - Seeds of Change Tomato Basil.

We loved these bean balls so much, we made another batch, but with a curry flavor! We used 1 1/2 tsp curry mustard, 2 Tb wheat germ and 1/4 cup each of cornmeal and oats instead of the bread crumbs, more oregano and no thyme, and some lemon juice. These were delicious with curry mustard dressing and served with homemade biscuits, greens, and cranberry sauce. Other ideas we want to experiment with include black bean Mexican balls, falafels, and balsamic flavored balls.

Have a great weekend! LK