We had such beautiful weather today, my husband and I decided to make a late lunch/early dinner and eat outside on the patio. Since I'm a vegetarian and my husband isn't, it can often be difficult to make meals that appeal to both of us. All of the dishes we made today are tried and true vegetarian recipes that we both love. They're all great recipes for a
meat-free Monday meal! 
The Best Caesar Salad Recipe
This recipe is from one of our favourite restaurants -
Daiquiri Dick's in Puerto Vallarta. It's an eggless recipe (actually dairy-free if you omit the parmesan cheese) and is absolutely amazing! It's not truly vegetarian because of the anchovy fillets but you can remove them if you don't eat seafood.
1 3/4 oz Onion (roasted or caramelized)
1 clove Garlic
5 Anchovy Fillets
1/4 tsp Ground dry mustard
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 TB Worcheshire sauce
1 TB Soy Sauce (yes, soy sauce)
1 TB Lemon juice
2 oz Apple cider vinager
1 drop Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup Canola oil
In a blender combine all of the ingredients except the oil and Parmesan cheese. Allow it to spin away, adding the oil in a thin stream. Once all the oil has been assimilated, taste and if necessary, adjust seasoning. Use the nicest, crispest Romaine leaves in with the dressing and before serving, dust with Parmesan cheese, fresh ground black pepper. I also add croutons and a handful of sliced up cherry tomatoes. We typically put in about 1/2 the amount of oil but you'll need to adjust based on your preference.
Bruschetta on ACE Rosemary Focaccia Bread4 large ripe tomatoes
Fresh basil (handful)
Olive Oil
Balsamic drizzle
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garlic (1 clove)
Slice and chop the tomatoes after removing the core. Loosely chop a handful of fresh basil and squeeze in the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil (roughly about 2 TB - enough to lightly coat the tomatoes) and season with salt and pepper. Last but not least, we've found an amazing balsamic drizzle that we use when we make bruschetta. We add a touch in the bruschetta and then top our bread with some as well. This is optional but well worth it if you're able to include it. Before serving the Focaccia we lightly grilled the bread on the BBQ.
Simple pasta with cherry tomatoes This started out as a simple pasta recipe from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. I've experimented with it over the years and made some changes based on what I like best. I believe the original recipe had cherry tomatoes, arugula and squashed olives.
3-4 containers of cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil (handful)
Olive oil
Chili flakes
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional: I kept it simple today but you can easily add a few additional ingredients to give this pasta a bit of a twist. Arugula is great in this pasta (include at the end) or you could add in some shrimp/scallops to make it a seafood pasta - we cook them in a separate pan in butter, garlic and white wine and then add them to the pasta when it's all done. This is a great vegetarian pasta but it's yummy to add in some seafood as well.
Loosely chop up the tomatoes. In a pan on high heat, drizzle some olive oil and add in garlic, a sprinkling of chili flakes and the basil. Once it starts to sizzle add in the tomatoes and turn the heat down to medium. Stir the sauce occasionally. You can start boiling the water for the pasta at the same time that you start the sauce. We like it with linguini but you can use any pasta. By the time the pasta is ready your sauce should be done. Top the pasta with some fresh Parmesan cheese and you're ready to go.
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You can find the recipe here. And, if you're not on a cleanse, take Jamie's advice and serve with some roasted fingerling potatoes. I'm imagining it right now...and it tastes good!
On Sunday, I started a metabolic cleanse. It was recommended by my naturopathic doctor who basically said that detoxing my liver and gastrointestinal tract would build a strong foundation for my immune system. Apparently, this will help me not get a million colds this winter (I'm hoping that it will also prevent swine flu). So, for the next seven days I'll be drinking icky rice and pea protein shakes and eliminating alcohol, beef, dairy and wheat from my diet.
Every Sunday I design a weekly menu. This way, I can hit the grocery store once and cook several meals throughout the week. Like usual, things don't always go as planned so I'm often left with unused vegetables. I still haven't found a good use for wilted lettuce but old red peppers can easily be transformed into marinated roasted red peppers.
When in need of a seriously fast, reasonably healthy meal I think...grilled vegetable sandwich. 
