A Veggie Venture: The Back Story

On April 1st, 2005, I launched A Veggie Venture. That "I" was me, Alanna Kellogg, already second-generation author of the food column Kitchen Parade which my mom started when I was a baby.

Half lark, half April Fool's joke, the goal for A Veggie Venture was to cook a vegetable with new recipes and new vegetables every single day for an entire month. (It seemed so ambitious at the time!)

Why? Because our diets need more vegetables. Because vegetables are too often an after-thought. And because it's easy to get stuck in a veggie rut. But after a month, it felt like I was just getting started. And the asparagus was calling. And then:

after three months, I discovered the vibrant food blogger community and home-grown tomatoes were just coming in
after six months, I was still learning and oh! it was time to roast fall’s squashes
after nine months, the daily rhythm somehow sustained itself and the wintry root-vegetable purees tasted so good
and in the twelfth month, I came full circle, greeting the first spring vegetables like old friends not seen in a long while.

And so A Veggie Venture produced 365 days of vegetables cooked in new ways. Lots of lessons. Lots of new-to-me-vegetables. Lots of new favorites. Along the way, a fellow food blogger dubbed me the Veggie Evangelist and I suddenly realized, Yes, that is my calling!

Today I am committed to providing continuing inspiration Asparagus to Zucchini and streamlining the Recipe Box to make it still easier and faster to find a quick vegetable for supper, the best low-carb vegetables, the best vegetable salads, even the occasional “vegetable for dessert!

So explore away! All the recipes include nutrition estimates, Weight Watchers points and net-carb counts plus time requirements and cooking tips. Personal favorites are marked .

PHOTO CREDIT
Many thanks to Robin whose tomato spiral so perfectly symbolizes the seasonality of all food but especially fresh vegetables.

A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2006


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Woo hoo! I'm glad you'll be keeping up the site.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I echo Sprite's sentiments.

    Gorgeous photo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. One more person who's glad you're continuing. That's great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was going to write exactly what Sprite said, even the woo hoo. So I'll just say, I'm happy to hear it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Woo hoo it is then! Hugs & kisses all around then! Thanks all ... it means the world.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellent! Glad you decided to continue!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have been sooo dispirited this last week or two. I was afraid that you would move on to something else and while I probably would have liked your new venture, I absolutely love the vegetables. Thank you for keeping on.

    Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  8. Whew, the veggie evangelism will continue! I am so relieved. (as are all the future converts, even if they don't know it yet :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. My daily blog browsing has been incomplete lately -- but no more!

    GORGEOUS photo!

    80KD

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congratulations Alanna on a wonderful first year!...so, how about 3650 days of veggie goodness as the new plan? I look forward to it every day...
    best, Stephen

    ReplyDelete
  11. Can I add a woo-hoo? A woo hoo for veggies!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy (belated) anniversary! Just imagine all the extra anti-oxidizing you've done this past year. Drop me an email or comment, Alanna, about The Veggie Evangelist. I'm a contributor but still wondering what you had in mind for me to contribute..

    http://mindycooks.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congratulations on a veggie-filled year, and add my whoo hoo to the chorus! You're an inspiration (and lovely as well:-). Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just ran across your blog and am really enjoying looking around. It started with the chickpea, tomatoes and spinach recipe on to the sweet potatoes with oj and cranberries to all over the place. I have a lot of catching up to do!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Alanna,
    Three doctors in a month said I must lose weight. Not sure how to start I found your site and put it on my favorites bar. Thank You so much for this gift of love! Your veggie adventure is helping me to make the long term changes that will help me regain my health.Thank You! Thank You! May God continue to bless You! Deanna

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna